Crowning Glory

Knocked Up

I didn't go to see Knocked Up when it was first released for the simple fact that my wife was 8 months pregnant at the time, I had heard that there was an infamous 'crowning' scene and, hey, we weren't quite ready to watch that sort of thing for entertainment. A few months down the line and sufficiently recovered from our own crowning scene we settled down to watch the film (albeit frequently interrupted by the cries of our new arrival).

Slacker Ben is quite happy dossing around with his flatmates, smoking weed, as they work on a website which provides the timings and details of your favourite movie stars nude appearances. On a night out he has the good fortune to meet career girl Alison who is out celebrating her promotion and after a few drinks too many the two share a one night stand. After the predictably uncomfortable morning after they go there seperate ways only for Alison to discover 8 weeks later that she is pregnant. We then follow the trials and tribulations of this mis-matched couple as they try to prepare themselves for the birth.

There are a few credibility issues with the storyline for sure, but this is a romantic comedy and the important thing is that it contains laugh after laugh after laugh. The piss-taking amongst the guys is relentless and Seth Rogen is perfect in the role of Ben with one of the most ridiculous laughs since Eddie Murphy. Katherine Heigl is sweetly confused as she goes through the various stages of pregnancy. The supporting cast is great too (there are clear advantages to a director casting his own wife and kids) with Paul Rudd putting in another great performance. Yes, there are a few sentimental moments but they are always counter-balanced by something a little gross or bittersweet and all in all it makes for one of the funnier romantic comedies in years.

The DVD contains a few funny extras too including some genuine gross-out moments in a short film about shooting the rollercoaster scene.