"Knocked Up"... let down
Judd Apatow’s follow-up to the hysterical 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN has the funniest trailer I have seen in quite a while. So the question is, “Does KNOCKED UP live up to its trailer?” The answer is simple…NO.
The setup is simple. An average guy, Ben (Seth Rogen) has a one night stand with a hot girl, Alison (Katherine Heigl)… 8 weeks later, he gets the news that she is pregnant. What follows is their journey to try and make their relationship work and find a way to make their lives, however different they may be, work together. There are many funny parts to this movie, but they are spaced throughout an overly long, poorly paced film.
The story of KNOCKED UP is one that could have (and tried to have) a great deal of heart with outrageous comedy. What resulted is a mess. The film, at just over two hours, is way too long and never once succeeds on an emotional level. You never see the real connection between Ben and Alison. Sure he is a funny and “cute” guy, but he has no direction, smokes pot all day and has never seemed to work a day in his life. He is crude and misguided and seems to fall for her for no other reason than she is hot and out of his league. The only reason that she seems to fall for him is that he knocked her up. That is the only thing that he has to offer her. 
The only change that Ben seems to make is one of desperation at the end of the movie that rings false in every possible way. This is NOT a believable love story and fails in any attempt to be one. 
As far as a flat out comedy, KNOCKED UP is too uneven. It seems like there was no script and that every scene was heavily improvised without thought to a story or any development or cohesion. Sure there are a handful of really funny moments, but most of those are either shown or touched on in the trailer (which I strongly recommend checking out). The fact is that funny moments were enough for the first 45 minute of the movie and then it just got old. They were too few and far between and they never seemed to lead to anything more than stupid jokes.
Ben’s friends are about as pointless as anything in the movie besides providing an illustration of how hopeless he is. They are screw-ups and quite stupid, making them and their friendship fake and pointless. Most of the people in this movie seem to have no issue living a normal life despite having no work or any source of income whatsoever. I know that I am pointing out logic problems in a “silly comedy”, but this aspires to be more that that.
KNOCKED UP bored me and every time that it tried to be a coherent film, it failed. There is a reason why movies have scripts and are not all improvised and this is a great example. It is a sloppy film. Poorly shot, constructed and plotted. Half of the scenes felt like they belonged on the DVD as bonus deleted scenes, stuck in there for no reason. You might have a few laughs, but especially following a movie like 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, this is nothing more than a disappointment and a step backwards for all involved.
Here are links to the VERY funny trailers for this very mediocre movie:
posted by Humby | 1:52 AM
19 Comments:
The international trailer for this was the funniest thing I've seen in ages, so this is really disappointing .. I've stuck with Apatow since way back with Freaks and Geeks, though, so I'll definitely give this one a chance
i am just saying don't have too high of expectations. i have also been on the Apatow bandwaggon for a long time and think that FREEKS & GEEKS is absolutely brilliant.
I really do hope that you (and others) enjoy this movie more than i did.
i also saw this movie and i agree with john. it was bad. really bad.
i urge everyone to wait for it to come out on DVD - or at the very least go in with EXTREMELY low expectations!
The only thing about this review that is upsetting is that you refer to "40-year-old-virgin" as hilarious. It was horrible, as I am sure this movie is too...so...I am sure, like "Virgin" this movie will do very well , make lots of money, and be qouted for years to come.
Movies are fucking bull-shit.
:)
You have no idea what you're talking about, i've seen the movie twice at the theatre at Washington State Univ. and its hilarious, i never stopped laughing niether did the other 200 some people that were there. Maybe you need to watch it again
maybe i should see it again...
maybe the film has been re-cut and works better now than it did when i saw it. all that i know is that the movie that i did see was not great and was far from hysterical.
I saw this film a couple of months ago and while it did feel a little long, I laughed heartily throughout. Later, after having seen the trailer, I feel the movie more than lives up any hype the trailer may create.
I agree. It was a bit long but that fact that I was laughing the entire time made it go by very fast. I would see it again because it was so funny. Watch the clips and trailers on Zannel and it might change your mind.
im sorry to say that your wrong knocked up is seriously the funniest movie i have ever seen ive seen it twice and there wasnt a moment i stopped laughing i personally hated the movie 40 year old virgin but this movie is flat out amazing and guarenteed the best comedy of the year.. possibly u just didnt understand the humor
"possibly you just didn't understand the humor"
is that supposed to be a slam? i don't really think that the humor for the most part was that difficult to comprehend. it was the character based humor that i did find funny, but i felt like most of the jokes were silly, sophmoric and badly improvised. most great comedy comes from great characters and that is really what i think this movie lacked. i watched it again last weekend to see if anything had been changed since my first viewing and it had not. i actually found the movie more tedious to sit through and less funny than i did before.
i am glad that you enjoyed the movie. i really wanted to both times i went in, but i did not. i am still a fan of apatow and will continue to check out his films, but this one fell flat for me. it also seems (based on the reviews) that i am in the minority as well, but people can't always agree.
FINALLY! A decent review about a flim that left in utter disbelief and almost completely sick to my stomach. You're right, Mr. Humby, as the film felt as if it only touched the surface, particularly with its plot and characters. They were all very "easy" and "one-dimensional", and when the Seth character tried to change, it seemed a little too quick and simple. I liked 40 yr. Old Virgin's premise better...a geek with promise...I think this is more of a "sick and twisted" chick flick...enjoy, if you must.
Horrible, low-class movie...Lacks creativity (especially the dialogue). Can Hollywood not find any writers that write anything besides a script with every other word being the F-word? Very sad state if most of the critics out there find this to be a great movie. Where do they get their credentials anyway? I can see how very young, immature men would laugh out loud at this....Beyond that...Who really finds any value here?
Those of you that didnt like it, you must be really old and sit at home all day or something....this movie was excellent!
goodness people. it's just a movie. even if the plot and characters were poorly developed, the jokes were still funny and there are plenty of one-liners to reference. just enjoy it for what it is. if you think you can make a better movie, go ahead.
to say that if i don't like this movie means that i must be really old and that i must sit at home all day is... funny.
and...
my opinion is mine, and i am totally entitled to it, as is everyone who shares theirs. if you disagree, that is fine. i respect that. i WANTED to like this movie as much as most people seemed to, i just did not. no need to make it personal and tell me how lame i am or throw down the gauntlet for me to make a better film. that is just ridiculous. that is not what this site is about. it is not about me comparing my films to the ones that are released, but it is about me sharing what i think with whomever wants to read and comment.
just want to clear that up. but the last comments did make me laugh, so if that was your intention, you succeeded.
You don't know anything about film or films. Knocked Up is the most mature romantic comedy that's been released and is also the most modern. Sure, this comment has no examples, but that's because its' a comment. Just think about it. And actually watch the movie.
i couldnt agree more with your post. Actually I know is a little bit late for commenting here, but man, on insomnia nights/dawns like this one im going around traumas of last year and that movie was one of them. And finally i see a post of somebody that like myself didnt laugh our "asses" off with this example of a very lousy comedy.
Im happy to see that im not a freak of nature! I respect people that liked it (like the 99% of the ones i know!) but i couldnt believe people called it a "good movie". is just a weak movie with weak characters and with no laughs for me.
...im going to read more of your posts ... thanks!
Wow wOw wow !!! Really you have done great job, honestly I loved your blog. You put in damn cool cool pics that movie looks so interesting that anyone want to watch knocked up movie, if he/she hasn't seen. However movie is very very funny I have ever seen seriously.
Knocked Up is a very enjoyable film. the first half of it is great while by the second half of the script becomes mired in slow. Over All, movie is good one. It is worth watching it.
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