#10 Knocked Up

Due to his first name, I might be partial to the films of Judd Apatow. But I think that what he has done for comedy in the 2000's is comparable to what Kevin Smith did in the 90's. Yes, there are many "dick and fart" jokes in both Smith and Apatow movies. But what makes both of them great comedic filmmakers and screenwriters is that they don't rely solely on dirty jokes or "guy gets hit in the nuts" type humor. What distinguishes them both is the superb dialogue and interactions which captures their apathetic characters perfectly. And that is something that is instantly identifiable to an apathetic generation.

Although many people still prefer The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up is not only my favorite Apatow film, but definitely among my favorite comedies of this decade. The concept of the "romantic comedy" has been butchered down to what it was when Annie Hall was released. Producers realized it would be much more profitable to take out the "comedy" part of it and market their films for their star power. All you need to do is take some British guy(Hugh Grant, Gerard Butler, Jude Law) and put him with some American Sweetheart(Kate Hudson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Drew Barrymore), and now you have a romantic comedy.

But Knocked Up is what a romantic comedy should be. It is very much a love story. While it may not be a "chick flick", there should be no reason why women who love a great love story wouldn't love this movie. Yes, it does have the typical theme of a slacker guy who needs to change for his woman. But it actually feels real. You can see how both Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl manage to find ways to work it out. This plot line would normally seem very thin, but it's not. Things aren't exactly happily ever after at the end. Paul Rudd's character sort of resolves that his existence with his wife and children may not be wonderful, but it's what he has.

However, there are certainly a ton of very humorous moments throughout this movie. The Apatow crew of Jonah Hill, Jason Segal, and Bill Hader are always insanely entertaining. Leslie Mann is always fun to watch and her children in Knocked Up(which are her real kids with Apatow), are so cute when they talk about things like "Googling murder".

As much as I hate the typical romantic comedy, I get more upset by the way that people buy into it. That they believe in these silly fantasies. That's why I'm amazed that Knocked Up would've received criticism from the press and Heigl herself for being sexist. It seems that if a love story isn't specifically geared towards women it's sexist. I also recall reading a review saying that the story in Knocked Up is so absurd because a guy like him can never get with a girl like her.

To me, THAT'S sexist. To suggest that an attractive, successful woman is too shallow to get with a less attractive and successful(yet sweet) man, is incredibly offensive. Knocked Up is one of those movies that when I see on TV I end up sitting through the whole thing, even if I only wanted to watch one scene. But when I'm watching it, I'm not thinking about the impressions it leaves of men and women.

I'm just laughing.