Okay… here’s the dilemma. How does one recommend a film that is laugh-out-loud funny all the way through and completely captures the foibles of adult intimate relationships while placing on the screen one of the best ensemble casts in recent moviedom? Gee, you say, that should be easy. But, what if you can’t say the name of the movie out loud without gagging? In my generation “knocked up” was the most derogatory way that you could describe woman who was pregnant out of wedlock. The phrase was said in hushed tones in polite company and only heard out loud from the mouths of offensively crude men who were proud of their accomplishment of impregnation. Writer Judd Apatow could have come up with more appropriate name.

Apatow is obviously a very funny guy and I found myself thinking a lot about how hysterical it must have been to be on the set of Knocked Up. This is the first movie directed by Apatow that I have even watched, mainly because he finally left Will Farrell out of the cast. (The only movie in which I have found Will Farrell appealing is Elf.)

Not only did Apatow direct this romp through adult procreative mayhem, he also wrote the screenplay and if you check on his current activity, he has seven films either currently filming or in pre/post production. Prolific seems to be the word to describe the man who claims that he has a heart for the underdog and gives praise to Gary Shandling for teaching him how to write. All I can add is that he very much loves what he does and has a heart for family. As the credits roll at the end of the movie, snapshots of the cast and crew at or closely following birth are shown.

Knocked Up is the story of Ben Stone and Alison Scott. Ben is the pure definition of a loser. In his advanced 20s he is living off the last $900 of a $16,000 car accident settlement that he received eight years prior. He figures that he has about two years of support remaining and in the meantime is living with four other loser guys whose greatest preoccupations include smoking pot, talking about body parts like pre-adolescent boys, and creating a web site that focuses on how quickly into a movie the female body parts appear. Alison Scott is Ben’s complete opposite: beautiful, intelligent, rising in her job with an entertainment television show, and full of upper middle class ideals and goals for her future. (The camera adores Katherine Heigl as Alison!)

The lives of Alison and Ben collide one evening in a night club where too much to drink sends them back to Alison’s place (she lives in a pool house belonging to her sister and brother-in-law) for a one night stand. You guessed it—eight weeks later the pair are confronting the reality of a pregnancy and struggling to make sense of their new and very changed lives. The remainder of the movie details their journey, supported by the side stories of Alison’s sister and her unhappy marriage and the weird family of mostly continuously stoned or drunk Neanderthals that Ben inhabits.

The true magic of Knocked Up is found in the ensemble of the cast. Everyone clicks with each other, even those characters that have very limited screen time and really border on being merely extras. The timing of the dialogue is amazing. A repartee never appears forced or contrived. In fact, the timing is so good that several times the audience I screened the movie with was so surprised at the genius of the humor that they were a beat late in their laughter response.

The thematic content of Knocked Up deals mainly with the relationship that develops between Ben and Alison. However, in the process of learning about the characters and watching them form that relationship, important topics are also addressed.

In the beginning of her pregnancy, Alison is encouraged by everyone close to her (including her own mother) to have an abortion. Refreshingly, this option is one that Alison never considers viable and Ben only seems to mention it as a “feeling out” of Alison’s wishes in a surprising and unexpected situation. This decision brings much disbelief and derision from their friends and relatives, but the barely-a-couple stands firm.

Another strong theme is that of accepting the consequences of your decisions and actions. The very immature characters reach deeply within themselves and don’t come out whining about how none of this is their fault, but accepting that they have made the bed that they now find themselves in and must integrate it into their lives. Sadly, however, marriage is barely mentioned and when it is, it is quickly brushed aside.

This movie is about adult, intimate relationships. Only those who have participated in one will truly understand the pathos, joy, irritation, comfort, and downright hilarity of working to blend two lives into a single one. The laughter of the audience members was definitely a product of recognizing themselves in so many of the posed situations.

Only a couple of things may keep people from seeing Knocked Up: one being the title and the other being the very excessive use of crude language. The “f” word is king in the dialogue—coming from every character’s mouth at one time or many. The infantile mentality of Ben and his friends also contributes to the use of lots of slang descriptions of body parts and intimate acts. Ben grows up and changes throughout the movie, but his buddies do not—and for all her beauty and seeming poise, Alison has quite a mouth on her when she isn’t in front of the television cameras at work.

The MPAA has rated Knocked Up with an R for “language, sexual content, and drug use”—and very deservedly so. This is absolutely an adult film and anyone under the age of 18 should really think twice before seeing it.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Kathy attended a promotional screening of Knocked Up.