Knocked Up: Raising Helen meets 40 Year Old Virgin

Rating: Null/10 (19 September 2007)

I couldn't help grinning from ear to ear upon reading the review of Knocked Up by a columnist in the paper. Instead of reviewing much of the movie, he played 'spot the obvious' and went complaining about the censorship board in Malaysia. Among one of the points raised by him was the fact that even though the film was labeled 18PL, the film was still butchered anyway by the censorship board. So why have censorship? It explains why the DVD black market is still up and running.
The best I could say right now is that we acknowledge the fact that the censorship board is redundant and we are just tired of complaining anyway so we opt out by watching films elsewhere. But in any case, I could only imagine how the censored version of Knocked Up would end up like which is why I am ever so grateful that I could watch the film in its entirety this morning and boy, was it a joy to watch.
Ben Stone (played by Seth Rogen) and his stoned friends dream of making a fortune with a website that reveals where and when movie stars get naked in movies while Alison Scott (played by Katherine Heigl) who just got promoted to become a presenter on E! Having been told to 'tighten' (become thinner la) for the sake of the job, it would be a nightmare if she were to get pregnant, right? Well her worst nightmare comes true after chance brings them together in a bar and that one-night stand that they would have would end up as something that would change their lives forever. After all the moral dilemma facing them both, Alison decides to keep the baby with both Alison and Ben deciding to give each other a chance for the sake of the baby. As the nine months pass these two by, tolerance turns to accommodation which turns to true love for the two.
Make no mistake, I love Katherine Heigl. I really do. She looks classy, beautiful and at the same time, she looks a tad vulnerable which makes her even more appealing. But anyhow, the best thing about this movie is that both Heigl and Rogen make the movie believable with a sense of chemistry that matches the biological magnitude fazed by them. The ups and downs of their post-pregnancy relationship constantly tugs at your heart leaving you with warmth and fuzziness that only a Disney family flick would have but the obscenity (which also happens to make most of the movie funny) makes it "Thou shalt not pass" for kids under 21.
Parallel to the Alison-Ben relationship issues is the strained marriage between Alison's sister Debbie and her husband Pete who feels the pressure of being married and cannot believe how Debbie could love him so much. All guys face that, don't they? Not believing how a girl that hot could be with a us. Well, when these guys are at home,they complain at the fact that they can't hang out and live free anymore but when on the road, they FINALLY realize how much they miss their ladies and with tails between their legs, they come home to their women. My only qualms was the fact that the movie never really delved into the issue of abortion, but then, if she went for abortion, the movie would end by the half-hour mark, wouldn't it? But all is not doom and gloom as though there may only be a few laughs out there, but when the jokes come, they come at you fast and furious. Some of the best jokes were concerning Alison and Ben having sex with Ben being worried that his penis may poke the unborn child's head and Alison visiting the many gynecologists with one looking at her vagina and exclaiming "So you do look like your sister!" Watch out for Dr Kuni though. He steals the show whenever he appears. It's also too bad that two of the funniest scenes (one involving an alternate take with Dr Kuni) were not in the final cut but fortunately, they are on YouTube though.
Throughout the movie, we'll constantly find ourselves having our fingers crossed hoping that everything will end up rosy for Debbie and Pete, and more importantly Alison and Ben and we do get the happy ending but even then, there is always a doubt in my mind that either couples could just break-up anytime. We hope that love conquers all but then, the cynic in us will just creep out eventually and ask if love is actually enough to hold these two together.