Ligeiramente Grávidos

Probably because there is something fundamentally poignant about watching people you deem hopeless stumbling toward responsibility, this movie reminds me of the old Natalie Wood/Steve McQueen dramedy, 1963's "Love With the Proper Stranger", about a Macy's salesgirl who gets impregnated by a ne'er-do-well jazz musician during a one-night stand and then tracks what happens afterward. However, this is the 21st century, and the girl is now an interviewer on E!, and the guy is a very non-McQueen-like slacker in this uproarious and quite humane 2007 comedy, the latest work from writer/director Judd Apatow ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin"). In both comedies, he manages an amazing balancing act between a raunchy, post-frat hilarity and a shrewdly observed social commentary. Yet, there is no discernible fluctuation in the humor or the genuinely good spirit the films generate. Blessedly free of exhausting crescendo moments, the dialogue has a nice ramshackle feel and so do the characters. You really feel you want to know what happens to them after the film ends.

The story looks at the outset like your standard Hollywood opposites-attract rom-com as it centers on the burgeoning relationship between Ben Stone, the perfectly named definition of a slacker, and Alison Scott, the beautiful entertainment reporter. They meet at a trendy LA bar where she is celebrating her promotion to on-air personality. Ben buys her a beer, and she is impressed enough by his unexpected chivalry to keep him company. One thing leads to another, and you can guess the rest. But what you can't guess so easily is how these characters respond to the situation and to each other. There is also a surrounding gallery of characters offering their own opinions about what is developing, in particular, Alison's acerbic older sister Debbie, who is facing a crisis of her own as the control-freak wife of passively dissatisfied husband Pete. Their story intertwines nicely with the main plot line to the point where each makes the other more resonant.

Familiar faces from "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" return in this movie beginning with Seth Rogen, who proves he can carry a movie as Ben. Despite outward appearances to the contrary, his shaggy-dog demeanor and sometimes piercing self-deprecation provide much of the heart in the picture. As a last-minute substitute for Anne Hathaway, Katherine Heigl proves she can translate her natural likability on "Grey's Anatomy" to the big screen with ease. As Alison, she shows herself to be the rare actress who can be drop-dead gorgeous, smartly aware and genuinely non-judgmental. Apatow's wife Leslie Mann, who memorably demanded French toast while driving drunkenly through LA in "Virgin", is terrific as Debbie, an often-irritating mass of neuroses whom you somehow like despite herself. She has a great self-revelatory scene with a bouncer outside the same bar we see at the beginning. Paul Rudd plays Pete in his deceptively casual manner with a standout scene stoned in a Vegas hotel room.

Harold Ramis has a nice small scene as Ben's proud dad, while Ben's friends are an assortment of slacker-types played out like a well-tuned improv troupe. My one complaint about the film is just some of the sluggish pacing toward the last third of the film, the same problem I had with "Virgin". A running time of 129 minutes seems a bit long for the story being told here, though the birthing scene is hilariously executed, in particular, a scene-stealing bit by Ken Jeong as the passive-aggressive gynecologist called on to deliver the baby at the last minute. One other minor irritant are the deliberate references to "Virgin" in some of the dialogue between Ben and Pete. Regardless, this is one smart, heartfelt character-driven farce that far exceeded my expectations.

Knocked Up is a comedy about pregnancy, love, and marriage, that has far more intelligence and emotional depth to it than somewhat its flippant title would suggest. Ben (Rogen) is a layabout bum who lives with his stoner friends, "working" on a celebrity porn movie website. Alison (Heigl) has just been promoted at E!, and when she heads out to celebrate, their worlds collide with disastrous and of course hilarious consequences.

The comedy is clever and insightful, loaded with little self-referential moments and pop culture references (the Munich one is particularly awesome), and while it occasionally veers toward the puerile, the movie's subject matter ensures that the humour remains considered and intelligent for the most part. The performances are outstanding, but not just in terms of comic timing. Rogen appears built for this sort of balanced role as he realises that he has to grow up to meet the challenges of relationships and parenthood, and Heigl is just as effective as she learns to accommodate Ben's lifestyle and releases her grip on her career. The support from Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann is also brilliant. While their conflict-ridden marriage doesn't make them the greatest of role models for Ben and Alison, it certainly provides lots of laughs, and the clashes between Mann's overly paranoid Debbie and Rudd's laid-back Pete provide an interesting projection of how Ben & Alison's relationship could turn out.

The Rudd & Rogen moments make for some of the movie's better lines, but their humour is finely balanced with that emotional depth that I mentioned before, making the characters far more than punchline machines, which benefits the movie immeasurably. The awkward intimacy of Ben & Alison's almost-forced relationship also provides touching and comic moments, as Apatow examines what happens "when life doesn't care about your plan". Even the serious, emotional scenes are laced with a sort of ironic, bittersweet humour, which again gives the characters a sense of realism but also makes the movie that bit more comfortable and reassuring.

A subject that could have been treated with a crass touch, Apatow remains in tune with his previous effort, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and chooses to focus on the impact the pregnancy has on the lives of the characters, allowing their actions and interactions to create the comedy as they come to terms with their new situation. His light touch makes Knocked Up touching, insightful, and very, very, funny.

When Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is promoted in E! Television, she goes to a night-club to celebrate with her older married sister Debbie (Leslie Mann). Alison meets the pothead reckless Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and while having a small talk with him, Debbie's husband Pete (Paul Rudd) calls her to tell that their daughter has chickenpox. Debbie immediately leaves the place but Allison stays with Ben, drinking and dancing along all night; completely wasted, they end up having a one night stand. Ben does not use condom and eight weeks later, Allison discovers that she is pregnant. She calls Ben and they decide to try to stay together and have the baby. But the immatures Ben needs to grow-up first to raise a family of his own.

"Knocked Up" is a funny comedy and an entertaining romance with a charming cast. Seth Rogen and the gorgeous Katherine Heigl show a perfect chemistry with their charismatic characters, very well supported by Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd, and I laughed a lot with the most hilarious situations. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Ligeiramente Grávidos" ("Slightly Pregnants")

I've noticed a lot of the negative comments about this title tend to focus on this movie's vulgar, 'stupid' humor. Now let's get one thing straight. Knocked Up is vulgar, absolutely it is, but is is not stupid. Stupid humor is crap like "Mr. Woodcock" and "Good Luck Chuck," movies with no real craft to any of their jokes.

"Jessica Alba fell down!!! Ahahahahahaha!"

"He yelled 'sex' really loud!!! Pssshhahahahahaaheheheheeee!"

No. Die.

Knocked Up, on the other hand, is actually pretty clever most of the time. And even the movie's vulgarity isn't done in an over-the-top, simply-for-gross-out way (cite the fat bitch from Good Luck Chuck). It's what I guess you could call 'relevant vulgarity.' Anyway, the movie is extremely funny. Every joke is naturalistic, but not expected. The movie's characters are all convincing and multi-dimensional, and above all likable. Seth Rogan really does make the movie, though. He is hilarious, but he comes off more like a real nice, frank, down-to-Earth guy. Just the kind of guy you'd like to sit down and have a beer with. The kind of guy you'd more than like to get smashed with. The kind of guy you'd really like to have ill advised unprotected sex with. The kind of guy you'd love to raise a bastard child with. Needless to say, he's the reason the movie works.

"Knocked Up" is a well-made, enjoyable comedy about the consequences of an unprotected one-night stand. It has dual lessons for its lead characters: Seth Rogen has to learn to grow up and accept responsibility and Katherine Heigl has to choose between a professional life as a television interviewer or a possibly less rewarding (as she sees it) life as a stay-at-home mom.

And because it's Judd Apatow, he handles the sex gags carefully and with enough maturity that it doesn't become another stale sex comedy. But I think some people jumping on the Apatow bandwagon are so eager to praise him as the "Savior" of the sex-comedy genre that they are overlooking some of the film's flaws.

First of all, if we're going to be picky, the comedy isn't very consistent. Which is OK - I'd prefer it that way - but when you see reviews touting it as "the funniest movie of the year," expectations can't help but build.

I didn't think the acting was as good as in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Seth Rogen is a great supporting actor - but I find him rather irritating as a lead character. His revelation at the end of the film, too, isn't very believable - they spend so much time focusing on his life as a slacker that the transition between him being a man-child and accepting responsibility is as realistic as a "Rocky" training montage; he has a heartfelt talk with his dad (Harold Ramis) and suddenly he's 100% willing to become committed. Okay.

I'm not a big Heigl fan, but she fit the role well here. Paul Rudd was the real scene-stealer, though. But he's thrown off-balance by the casting of Apatow's wife - can he PLEASE stop putting her in all his movies? She can't act.

Overall, this is an OK comedy - better than most of its genre - and the drama is more realistic than most sex comedies, but some people were so willing to jump on it as a "masterpiece" of its genre before it even came out that the hype just killed it for me.