by Steve Dimatteo

Created on: June 30, 2007   Last Updated: June 03, 2012

If you are a person who cannot stand numerous drug references in movies, plenty of sex-talk, or foul language, then Knocked Up' clearly is not the movie for you. However, if you do like that stuff, this could sneak right onto your top-five list (because I know we all have one).

As a personal fan of comedies and movies that exist solely for entertainment value rather than preaching something, Knocked Up' is the funniest, and most original, movie I have seen in a long time. It consists of a fairly basic concept, guy has girl-guy loses girl-guy somehow gets her back, but the plot and the acting itself make this a movie so memorable I was legitimately mad when it was over because I wanted to keep laughing.

The movie is about a guy named Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) who, for all intents and purposes, is a loser. On the other hand, Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) works for E! News and her career is beginning to take off. Their two worlds collide after a one-night stand and will forever be intertwined as Alison soon finds out that she is pregnant.

From that point forward, the audience is subjected to the awkward (and by awkward, I mean because they have to do it, not because it isn't goodbecause it's great) courtship of Ben and Alison, but it never comes close to reaching the edge of boredom. The jokes are so quick, witty, and bountiful that it is hard to not want it to end, even though the movie tops out at over two hours. The supporting cast provides much of this humor, especially the relationship between Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann), Alison's sister.

It was particularly refreshing that this movie came out when it did, right in the thick of a trilogy-infested summer. No superheroes, no pirates, no talking ogres. It's just a great comedy that will keep you laughing well after you have left the theater. In other words, hopefully, let the quoting begin (anything but Napoleon Dynamite' will do at this point).

After the sleeping giant that was The 40-year-old Virgin', Judd Apatow is now 2-for-2 when it comes to shoving a year's worth of obscenities into one movie while developing an original plot with characters the audience will actually care for. That is really quite an accomplishment when you consider that the audience has to care for a pot-smoking slacker who does little else than watch nude scenes of celebrities (you'll understand later).

Apatow has further put himself and his merry band of actors, just one more great "frat pack" of Hollywood actors, into the mainstream, so it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next. I don't think he'll have any problems, though; he realizes the importance of characters and plots that people can relate to and care about in some way. So, if you are looking for a different kind of movie this summer, skip the sequels and try getting 'Knocked Up'.

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