Knocked Up

Rating: Null/10 (3 April 2009)

When "Knocked Up" came out in summer 2007 it became, shockingly, one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the decade. It was also a box office hit and when I saw it for the first time theatrically I thought it was very good, but was a little surprised at the overwhelming praise it received from critics and audiences. I gave the film another shot today after finally getting around to seeing Apatow's directorial debut "The 40 Year Old Virgin" last night and found my feelings to be almost exactly the same as the first time I watched it. I've noticed a backlash build up against the film recently, and while I wish to distance myself from that as I still enjoyed the film quite a bit, I do have to admit that, well, it's a little, here comes the dreaded word: overrated.
"Knocked Up" is far more focused on drama than "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is, in fact the relationship drama seems to me the real center of the film instead of the comedy. I have no problems with this at all, but now that I've seen it twice I know that my personal feelings on the dramatic aspects of this screenplay are that it's not anything really special. It's a good, solid story with well-written characters, but I really don't think it's worthy of the sort of praise heaped on it. Do Heigl's Alison or Rogen's Ben really hold a candle to Andy as characters, or really any of the supporting characters in this live up to those from "The 40 Year Old Virgin"? I don't think so.
The movie is less focused on sex than "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and Apatow proves himself capable of handling comic conversations with emotional relevance to the story yet again. "The 40 Year Old Virgin" was great thanks to superb comedic timing from the entire cast and Apatow as a director, as well as whoever edited the film. It was a phenomenal example of its craft. "Knocked Up" is a very good example of its craft. I don't care for Heigl though she's okay here and in all honesty I think I prefer Rogen as a supporting actor and writer than in a leading role. He was great on "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" and in "The 40 Year Old Virgin", but I think there was a little too much of his shtick here and in "Pineapple Express". "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" is problematic for several reasons but it has a lot of plus points, Rogen's toned-down and efficient performance (mostly, I gather, due to Kevin Smith limiting his improv) and Elizabeth Banks' brilliant turn as Miri perhaps the strongest aspects of the film.
I enjoyed "Knocked Up", I really did, and I hope I haven't sounded too negative about the film because I still thought it was very good. I much preferred "The 40 Year Old Virgin" from Apatow as a writer as far as his movie career goes and the better Apatow-produced film from 2007 in my estimation was "Superbad". I actually think Rogen is a better writer than actor, and while Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd made up somewhat for Heigl and Rogen's occasional mediocrity and lack of great comic timing, it didn't keep it from affecting my enjoyment of the film. Glad I gave this a rewatch but I think the one I'll keep going back to is Apatow's debut.