Rare breed of comedy that's crude,smart AND touching

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2007)

Upon watching this movie recently,I was(among many thoughts)reminded of another "Pregnancy changes everything" comedy: Nine Months from 1995. That film,directed by Chris Columbus and starring Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore,also featured an unplanned pregnancy that was forcing an otherwise relaxed,responsibility-free(relatively)bachelor to commit to the child he's helped create AND the relationship he was in. The differences,however,are loud and clear: where "Months" was played for slap-sticky,almost cruel laughs and shameless manipulation(and hence the reason I've practically sworn off ANYTHING Mr.Columbus writes or directs),"Knocked" is actually done with a sense of wit,savvy,solid character study and very deliberate,studied injections of sentiment.
Schlubby,beefy slacker Ben Stone(Seth Rogen,who looks about five to ten years OLDER than his actual age)lives with his buddies with the intent that breaks down to two(make it three)elements:movies(and the knowledge of all things related),music and getting stoned. The collective ambition of he and his buddies(JOnah Hill,Jason Segel,Martin Starr and Jay Baruchel)is to start a website that is able to document any and all actresses who are naked in movies down to the minutes and frames.
Meanwhile,pretty,well-adjusted and responsible Allison Scott(Katherine Heigl,a hybrid of the girl-next-door and a human Barbie doll)is seeing her career rise as she's promoted from behind-the-camera staff for E! Television to on-air personality. She and some girlfriends go to celebrate the promotion at a local nightclub.
At said nightclub,the two opposites meet,charm and attract. Of course,it doesn't take anyone of great genius or intuitive skill to figure,from the title of the film,that their dalliance--a sweaty,sloppy fête accompli at her(?) place--will yield something more than merely sex tales of conquest for him and a possible "I did that?" recollection from her.
As both Ben and Allison agree to work through the pregnancy together(A decision that takes remarkably little angst from both parties),their winding,twisting road toward love is,of course,not lacking bumps and potholes,many of them inadvertently supplied by each others' supports: his buddies and her sister and best friend Debbie(Leslie Mann,getting a seemingly rare chance to expand on a role) and her husband Pete(Paul Rudd,more comfortable than ever as a down-to-earth "Guy's guy" in film). Of course,the obstacles that Ben and Allison themselves have to overcome prove to be the most important to the story.
Director/writer Judd Apatow doesn't miss a beat from 2005's 40 Year Old Virgin, making what could be arch-type characters and comedic situations actually have sympathy to cut the sharp edges of pathos and profanity. He is also able to make even some of the more secondary or tertiary characters(i.e. the slough of OBGYNs that work on Allison,Pete and Debbie's daughters, Allison's co-workers,her mom,Ben's dad,the girlfriend of one of Ben's friends)funny and interesting,which seems to be asking a lot of a lot of directors and/or screenwriters. Last but not least,the warm,scuzzy charm of Rogen and the soft,oh-so-human Heigl give very fitting and grounded performances. It may not be quite as daft a movie as "Virgin',but it's made with such intelligence that it EASILY runs circles around just about any movie(genre alike or no)this summer. Pregnancy movies can be played for easy laughs or hard. The more difficult laughs are more rewards,thus so is this film.