Vulgar Romantic Comedy? Perfection.

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2007)

Bringing out the ugly! What really makes this film great and uncomfortable and funny is how it lets us see ourselves. In only a few moments Ben Stone is transformed from sweetly funny stoner into a shouting, mean-spirited, insensitive child. Pete retreats selfishly from a wife, Debbie who suffocates him with insane, but strangely familiar, expectations. All the players at some point become irrational, and this is where Alison (Hiegl's character) escapes criticism. Because she is pregnant, any outburst, any unmotivated action is easily excused, and ironically, she may have the fewest anyway. She's still Izzy from Grey's Anatomy, but without the self-righteousness. She's the ideal, a little vanilla, and a little hard to identify with, but in a good way.
Despite Rogen's and Hiegl's competence, it's the little characters that really make this film shine. Leslie Mann, Alison's older sister, somehow seems like both a potentially wonderful mother and potential basket case. She teeters on greatness and disaster and I love and identify with her for it. Jason Segel, whose turn on CBS's How I Met Your Mother is nothing short of phenomenal, shines here as a slacker friend, unfoundedly cocky, and somehow endearing. He effortlessly controls the screen.
Most wonderful, though, is Paul Rudd's Pete. I've never seen a character like him animated on the screen. After attempting just now several times, it's impossible to describe what's with this character. I guess there's a kind of absent, off-hand responsibility to him that just makes for compelling screen time. An Oscar worthy performance that, sadly, will never manifest in a nomination because of the kind of movie this is.
The film is undeniably funny on all levels. There are jokes ranging from the sophisticated pokes at pop culture, to the almost mandatory fart joke. I will say, that even the fart\poop references manage to be original and hilarious. Is the humor crude? Yes, and somehow not quite inappropriate either. We're eavesdropping on funny people with their most intimate friends. Thank you Mr. Apataw for letting us listen in.