When Slacker met Yuppie

Rating: 6/10 (20 March 2008)

Being facetious, one could say that the premise of the movie is pure science fiction fantasy: a somewhat overweight dope-smoking slacker somehow meets an absolutely beautiful woman who has been promoted to an on-air role on an entertainment TV programme.
The beautiful woman in question is Katherine Heigl, who plays Alison Scott. She has a terrific dead-pan persona when dealing with the slacker's ways & attitudes (the slacker is Ben Stone, played by Seth Rogen)...a real poker-face. I'm not sure if Heigl's teeth have been done by Industrial Light & Magic, but they are hard to look at without sunglasses.
Anyway, as a result of Scott & Stone's union, Scott gets pregnant. This serves as the premise for which this odd couple spend more time with each other than one would ordinarily expect.
Much of the humour arises from Stone's slacker ways (along with his friends too...each of which is horrifyingly interesting...like a car-crash). The way Scott doesn't give anything away in dealing with Stone is also funny.
The good thing about this movie is the way that the comedic load is shared amongst the cast...from the main players to people with minor roles. E.g. the scenes with Scott's superiors are very funny...especially her female superior, who is a bit of a seething mass of resentment towards Alison.
Or the married couple Scott and Stone hang out with (the wife is Scott's sister). Both married characters get to steal a few scenes with their face pulling or outrageous opinions.
I especially like the scene where Alison's sister just has a melt-down when a black bouncer refuses to let her and Alison into a night club. What is even better is when the black bouncer gets to say some good lines in response.
For me, the movie tends to fall a bit towards the end.i.e.when Ben and the husband take magic mushrooms before seeing Cirque de Soleil. It isn't quite as funny as it sounds.
Things pick up for the funny birth scene.