Unwanted pregnancy might sound like a risky subject for slapstick comedy, but Knocked Up is from writer-director Judd Apatow--so we are in the hands of a man who likes to push things. And like Apatow's predecessor, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up is a shaggy crowd-pleaser, a comedy strewn with vulgarity but with a sweet heart at its center. A one-night stand between the utterly mismatched Ben (Seth Rogen, his first starring role) and Alison (Katherine Heigl) results in said pregnancy, and the two people reunite for mutual support--even though they barely know each other. Ben's a slob who lives with four other guys, all of whom share the same stunted approach to maturity; Alison is a new on-air personality at the E! channel. That these two eventually develop a shared understanding and affection is perhaps the movie's biggest stretch (some of the male-humor jokes amongst the guys are idiotic enough to test anybody's hope of civilizing them).
Rogen and Heigl don't really jump off the screen, but, to be fair, the movie frequently needs them to play straight while the supporting cast cuts up. Virgin vets Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd are around to supply some humor, as Alison's sister and brother-in-law, and the four idiots who live with Ben (Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Jason Siegel, and Martin Starr) are in their own zone of sophomoric bad taste. Still, by 40-Year-Old Virgin standards, this movie doesn't explode, and it sometimes feels ramshackle to the point of not being thought out. Apatow's indulgence of actors creates some fine moments (Paul Rudd seems to have most of them), but it can also make a movie feel flabby, and this one is overlong by the length of a belly. --Robert Horton |
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 Details on the different versions of this DVD release |
| Review Date: September 11, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Bretzky, Portland, OR |
Loved the movie. That said, I was confused on what the differences were on the 3 DVD versions, but found some details that I've posted below. As for me, I'm going with this two-disc unrated version.
Basic extras -- available on all (both R-rated and Unrated Editions):
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Gag Reel
-"Directing the Director" (Capote director Bennett Miller stops by to help Apatow get the job done)
- Line-O-Rama (Tons of alternate takes)
- Audio commentary with Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader
- Roller Coaster Featurette
Goodies available only on the Unrated releases:
- MORE Deleted and Extended Scenes (some pretty raunchy ones, reportedly)
- Topless Scene: "Web Design"
And finally, extras available only on this 2-disc Unrated version:
- Judd Apatow's Video Diaries
- Finding Ben Stone (A mock casting session)
- Stripper Confidential (Rogen and Paul Rudd wade through some Sin City salaciousness)
- Even MORE Deleted and Extended Scenes / Gag Reel Footage!
- Another topless Scene: "Restaurant"
- Katherine Heigl's Audition Tape
.. "and more" (I'm really hoping for another "You know how I know you're gay?" extended scene like in 40-year-old Virgin) |
Knocked Up
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| Review Date: October 23, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Judie, Canada |
| HILARIOUS!! I was itching for this to arrive in the mail!! I saw this twice in the theater and wasn't disappointed with the DVD. I chose the original theater version because it is what I fell in love with and din't want it altered. I'd be curious to see the additional footage though. At first I thought this was going to be another stupid movie, but I was SO wrong! |
Real fun movie and great on blu ray
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| Review Date: March 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: barry, Boston, MA United States |
Writer/director Judd Apetow is building his own franchise and making a real name for himself with his high quality comedies with his unique special brand of humor and great casting. SUPERBAD does seem to be the most popular thus far but KNOCKED UP is in the same league for me.
Story line is pretty basic. We have an average stoner guy and a beautiful professional woman who meet at a bar, get drunk, have sex and she gets pregnant. In real life such different types of people may not try to make a relationship work but here it is very believable and the development of each character about life, love and acceptance is very realistic as the pregnancy develops. Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen are in top form as their lives are forever altered. Dialogue is funny, circumstances are realistic and having the marriage of Heigl's sister to compare with works great. Paul Rudd shines here and steals all the scenes he is in.
This is a bawdy comedy but manages to put across positive messages about safe sex, responsibility and the fact that relationships can be difficult. It is not a message film by any means but it manages to spread a good positive vein about life and its complications.
Blu ray usually is put to its best use with action films or films with great cinematography which show how the 1080p can be brilliant and how audio can transcend. Comedies can sometimes appear bland on blu ray but this film is crisp, colors are vibrant and video and audio are both at levels above that of the regular dvd. There is much talk of this movie being too long. For me it was not. You will either love it or you won't. For me it had a purpose in the length and the character development also warranted it.
I highly recommend the blu ray version of this film as well as the film itself. |
A multifaceted romantic comedy with a bit of something for everyone
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| Review Date: June 2, 2007 |
| Reviewer: K. Hinton, Atlanta, GA |
In the movie Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl plays Alison Scott, a twenty-something career gal who has just been promoted to an on-air position with E! Entertainment Television. The day she receives her promotion Alison goes out to celebrate with her older sister, Debbie, at a nightclub. It's there that she meets Ben, an unmotivated pothead who lives with four roommates and doesn't have a job "per se." Ben and his roommates are working on creating a Web site that will allow you to search for your favorite actress's nude scenes. When Ben and Allison meet, even though she's gorgeous and he's a pudgy, hairy mess, there's something about his personality and charm that wins her over. Eventually they wind up back at her place and you can guess from the title what happens next.
Knocked Up is the story of the way that Alison and Ben have to navigate an unplanned pregnancy and what it will mean for their individual futures, the future of their unborn child, and their collective relationship. It goes over every aspect of an unplanned pregnancy: do we or don't we have it?, what's going to happen to my career?, is this the right person for me? All of these questions are tackled in an honest and humorous fashion. And, even if you aren't into it for the pregnancy angle, there's so much more to the movie. Alison's sister has been married with children for a few years and feels that her relationship is stagnating. Her husband, played by Paul Rudd, is in no such rut and instead manages to be completely oblivious to his wife's concerns. Ben's roommates, also unmotivated potheads, have to figure out what to do if their planned celebrity sex scene Web site doesn't pan out the way they'd planned. As a whole, Knocked Up was just an all around interesting and multifaceted romantic comedy. And it doesn't hurt that the movie was downright hilarious.
Knocked Up is the sort of movie you can see with a friend, family member, or significant other and everyone will have something to laugh about. I can't remember the last time I was at a movie where every seat was filled and everyone laughed pretty much the whole time. It's definitely going to top the list of one of the funniest movies of the summer. |
Much better this way. ;)
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| Review Date: October 26, 2007 |
| Reviewer: E. Townsend-Smith, Illinois |
| After seeing how much the "unrated" version messed with the flow and humor of 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' without having the option of watching it without the extra stuff, we knew we'd only ever buy the theater rated version from this production company. I love outtakes and all (sex and fart jokes can always be well-placed, of course), but people should have a choice and added scenes should NEVER REPLACE the actual plot of a film! Sometimes I think movies are great just as they are, without extra fussing. Sometimes the "director's cut" has scenes that were deleted for a very good (and unfunny!) reason. So, get the unrated versions if you don't mind all that, but we loved this movie just the way it was when we first saw it and wouldn't buy a DVD that didn't give us the option of watching it either uncut or original (which they don't, so be careful when you buy!). Overall, this film, like Judd Apatow's other films, is both uproariously hilarious as well as very real and touching. Highly recommended! |
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