Knocked Up

Judd Apatow is the man of the moment when it comes to smart Hollywood comedies. His 40 Year Old Virgin, starring the brilliant Steve Carrel, was a critical and box office success and he has followed this effort, which has taken well over $100 million at the US box office on a budget of just $33 million. Knocked Up gives a starring role to one of the supporting cast of Virgin, Seth Rogen. He plays Ben, a 20 something waste of space who spends his days smoking pot and watching films to identify when actresses get their kit off for his not so original website idea. Kathrine Heigl plays Alison, the attractive, out-of-his-league, successful 20-something who gets her big break at the start of the film and goes out celebrating with her sister, Leslie Mann. A few drinks later, Ben and Alison meet and you can guess what happens next from the title of the film.

I wasn't a big fan of The 40 Year Old Virgin, despite being a huge fan of Steve Carell. I found the supporting characters fairly dull and the genuinely funny moments few and far between. This time the supporting cast are genuinely entertaining. Ben's friends, all 20 something wasters could be, in lesser hands, cliched and irritating but not here. They provide some genuine laughs. The same can be said of a couple of Alison's colleagues, Alan Tudyk and Kristen Wiig, who share two very nicely played scenes with her. The laugh out loud moment of the film however comes from Craig Robinson (who appears in The Office) in a small but brilliant role as a club doorman and I've got my quote for my movie years 2007 page already in mind! It's rare that you get such brilliance out of the supporting cast - even those that have a little as one line. They can make or break a comedy and in this case they made it. Praise is also due to Rogen and Heigl, who make a convincing, if unlikely (if that makes sense) couple.

But this is Apatow's baby. He wrote, produced and directed it. It's a definitely the best comedy I've seen in a while and well worth your time. The creative minds involved in this are also teaming up again for the forthcoming Superbad, which is currently receiving great notices in the States. Seth Rogen wrote it, Apatow produced it and Greg Mottola directs. Mottola also directed some episodes of the best sitcom of all time aka Arrested Development. That alone will have both me and Matt first in line at the ticket booth.

B