Knocked Up

Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) likes to smoke weed, drink beer and track female celebrity nude film-scenes for a Web site he runs from home. Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), a dashing young female with the gift of gab, is promoted from stagehand to an E! entertainment reporter. The two meet at an LA dance club. After things turn hot and heavy in Alison's bedroom, the film then clumsily turns into a nine-month morality comedy between the main characters.

As the saying goes, sex sells in the film industry. Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up" is simply another classic example of young adults having too much fun and learning from their mistakes. This coming-of-age film goes further than laying out the basic ABCs of sex education and the need to take responsibility for one's actions. Life oftentimes doesn't go according to plan, and the two strangers have to learn how to reconcile their personal and professional lives with the daunting prospect of unwanted parenthood facing them.

The story unfolds after their one-night-stand when Alison realizes her morning sickness is a sign of early pregnancy. When Ben and Alison visit a doctor the following day to get the test results, their reaction is one of deep disappointment. Ben's face turns pale and Alison sobs uncontrollably. After long discussions with friends and family, the two decide to give their relationship a chance and go ahead with having the baby. Everything seems to go well as the couple buy baby books and clothes. However, they also learn about married life from Alison's sister, Debbie and her husband. Debbie (Leslie Mann) has serious problems in her own marriage, which serves as a warning to Alison of what she might expect from her future relationship with Ben.

The film also examines the social stigma of abortion and having children out of wedlock, but not with very much subtlety. The scene in which Debbie tells her girls that a man and woman "don't live together before marriage, but if they love each other enough, they'll have babies" crudely sums up the movie's level of sophistication. "Knocked Up" was so predictable I only caught myself laughing once or twice. The two main characters fail to show any real chemistry and Alison in particular simply isn't convincing as a character. A lot of questions remain unanswered at the end of the story, but by then you simply don't care.