Knocked Up
So yesterday I headed out with a friend of mine to catch this here flick. I really packed a lunch. Cheese string things, beef jerky, almond joy, yogurt and onion potato chips (awesome) and a big old water. I had to see it right away because I was getting pukey in my mouth a little over all the articles and bonerizing over this Judge Apatow guy. It started to smell suspiciously like a big corporate push. That pre-sold shove down your throat if you don't love it you're wrong type of shovey feeling. I sort of felt it with 40-Year Virgin--- and didn't think that movie was the end all be all shoving Blazing Saddles off the top of the goofchain.
Anyway, yadda this flick is probably the best 'mainstream' comedy in a decade. Gotta give it up for Judge. This whole 40-Year Old School Wedding Crashers flicks have always been funny movies but I think they're always flawed. I think they go on way too long. The plots get all saggy sagged. I never really care about any characters. Like did anyone really care if Owen Wilson ended up with what's her face? In 40-Year Old which was loaded with funny lines-- the last half-hour felt like punishment to try and extract some sort of emotion. As much as those movies made me laugh... there was never much past the laughs. I simply didn't care when they got "serious".--- I did care about this movie and I was touched... and smiley. I admit it.
I think the main reason this movie worked so well was because of the chick characters. In most movies like this, the chicks are like props or cardboard cutouts of characters. Classified as 'the girlfriend' or 'the bitch' or 'the annoying friend'. The chicks in the movie were more complex. I had mixed emotions about their personalities. I felt bad for them then didn't then did then didn't. There was some surprising bluntness. Plus, for me, one chick gave the biggest laughs in the whole flick. Kristen Wiig. (but I think I might have a secret crush on her). I could listen to her mumble backhanded insults into conversations all day.
And another wicked strong part of this flick was so much of the conversation seemed so random and straight-out bizarre. I laughed out loud a ton. Plus the characters themselves were random. Every other thing seemed sort of left field or right field. It just seemed like everyone had their own agenda and thoughts and style. And pretty much everyone got a laugh... even the Rudd <cough> who can go away for a while. That would be ok with me.
But whatever! So there! It worked! It was delicious! But F Judge Apatow and his smart brain! It wasn't all super rosey! There were some things that were noticeably distracting. I didn't think Joe Rogan carried this thing the way I thought he was gonna. The movie really carried him. He never crossed over for me into awesome at all. Oh another thing! It annoyed me that whats her face (who deserves an Oscar nomination for her acting in this flick) kept her bra on every time they had sex. What's up with that? And the whole thing did have a bit of a disposable feel to it. Like even on the walk home I had a hard time remembering why I thought it was so funny.-- but maybe that's actually not a bad thing. Because I want to see this again.... soon.
Three Good Things About this Movie
- I'm a sucker for people insulting each other back and forth and back and
forth.
- The strange asian girl with the glasses who was stoned out of her mind.
- Kristen Wiig.
Three Bad Things About this Movie
- There wasn't enough Kristen Wiig.
- As much as I laughed at them I couldn't get an accurate read on any of the
stoner guys.
- Chop 15 minutes off these flicks! Damn it!
All in all, this really is the best comedy in a long lonng time (besides Borat which sort of doesn't count because that's other-worldly) that I really did dig dug alot. Watch it get nominated for Best Picture. On top of it-- because (Spoiler alert!) I got teary-eyed when the baby was born, I guess I underestimated how emotionally involving it was... until that moment. Which made that moment extra good. But a serious warning to any guy or chick out there out there who's considering making a baby soon--- this movie is gonna wanna make you run home and make it.... asap.