| Knocked Up | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Judd Apatow |
| Written by | Judd Apatow |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Eric Edwards |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 129 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million[2] |
| Box office | $219.9 million[2] |
Knocked Up is a 2007 Americanromantic comedy film written, produced and directed byJudd Apatow, and starringSeth Rogen,Katherine Heigl,Paul Rudd,Leslie Mann,Jay Baruchel,Jonah Hill,Jason Segel andMartin Starr. It follows the repercussions of a drunkenone-night stand between aslacker and a recently promoted media personality that results in anunintended pregnancy.
The film was released on June 1, 2007, to box office success, grossing $219 million worldwide, and acclaim from critics.This Is 40, a "sort-of sequel" focused on Rudd's and Mann's characters with Apatow returning as writer/director, was released on December 21, 2012.
AmbitiousLos Angeles reporter Alison Scott lives with her sister Debbie and her family and has just been promoted to an on-air role withE!. Ben Stone is an immature and wise-cracking Jewish Canadianslacker who lives off injury compensation funds and sparsely works on a celebrity pornographic website with hisstoner roommates. While celebrating her promotion, Alison meets Ben at a local nightclub. After a night of heavy drinking, Ben and Alison have aone-night stand, and due to a miscommunication, Ben does not wear a condom. The following morning, they learn over breakfast that they have nothing in common so they go their separate ways, leaving Ben feeling disappointed.
Eight weeks later, Alison experiences morning sickness while interviewingJames Franco, and she realizes she could be pregnant. She takes multiple pregnancy tests and is shocked to discover that she is pregnant. She contacts Ben for the first time since their one-night stand to tell him. Although abrasive at first, he says he will support her. While Ben is still unsure about being a parent, his father is overjoyed. Alison's mother tries to persuade her to have an abortion, but she decides to keep the child.
After spending more time getting to know one another, Alison and Ben decide to give the relationship a chance. They become closer and prepare for their baby to arrive. Ben proposes with an empty ring box and promises to get Alison a ring someday. Alison thinks it is too early to think about marriage, as she is more concerned with hiding the pregnancy from her bosses, fearing they will fire her if they find out.
Alison is increasingly worried about Ben's lack of support and understanding and doubts about their relationship's longevity. These thoughts are due to her sister's loveless marriage. Debbie's husband, Pete, works as a talent scout for rock bands, but leaves at strange hours in the night, making her suspect he is having an affair. Upon investigating, she learns that he is actually part of afantasy baseball draft and that he has been doing other activities such as going to the movies on his own, which he explains he does to be free from Debbie's manipulative manner.
As a result, they separate, and when Ben expresses pride in Pete's deception, it leads to an argument with Alison as they drive to her doctor. Furious, she ejects him from her car, abandoning him in the middle of a busy street. He tracks her down at her appointment and they have another argument, leading to their breakup.
Ben and Pete go on a road trip toLas Vegas. Under the influence ofpsychedelic mushrooms, they realize their loss and decide to try and save their relationships. Simultaneously, Debbie drags a nervous Alison out partying with her, but they are refused admission to a nightclub by its sympathetic bouncer on account of Debbie's age and Alison's pregnancy. This leads to Debbie's tearful laments about her life and desire to have Pete back. They reconcile at their daughter's birthday party, but when Ben tries to work things out with Alison, she refuses to get back together. Alison's boss finds out about her pregnancy and sees an opportunity to boost ratings with female viewers by having her interview pregnant celebrities. After a talk with his father, Ben decides to take responsibility and makes a great effort to mature, including obtaining his own apartment, getting an office job as a web designer, and reading pregnancy books.
When Alison goes into labor and is unable to contact her doctor, she calls Ben, as Debbie and Pete are out of town. After he discovers that Alison's gynecologist is at aBar Mitzvah (despite emphatically insisting he never took vacations), Ben leaves him a profane voicemail. During labor, Alison apologizes for questioning Ben's priorities. When Debbie and Pete arrive at the hospital, Ben refuses to allow Debbie to be at Alison's side, insisting that it is his place. Debbie is both incredulous and thankful that he took charge of the situation and begins to change her formerly negative opinion of him. The couple welcomes a baby girl (a boy in the alternate ending) and starts a new life together.
Several of the major cast members return from previousJudd Apatow projects:Seth Rogen,Martin Starr,Jason Segel, andJames Franco all starred in the television seriesFreaks and Geeks which Apatow produced. From the Apatow-createdUndeclared (which also featured Rogen, Segel and Starr) there areJay Baruchel andLoudon Wainwright III.Paul Feig, who co-createdFreaks and Geeks, starred in the Apatow-written movieHeavyweights and directed the Apatow-producedBridesmaids also makes a brief cameo as the Fantasy Baseball Guy.Steve Carell, who makes a cameo appearance as himself, played the main role in Apatow'sThe 40-Year-Old Virgin which also starred Rogen and Rudd, as well as appearing in the Apatow-producedAnchorman. Finally,Leslie Mann, who also appeared inThe 40-Year-Old Virgin andFreaks and Geeks, is married to Apatow and their two daughters play her children in the movie.
Anne Hathaway was originally cast in the role of Alison in the film, but dropped out due to creative reasons[3] that Apatow attributed to Hathaway's disagreement with plans to use real footage of a woman giving birth.[4]Jennifer Love Hewitt andKate Bosworth auditioned for the part after Hathaway dropped out, but ended up losing out toKatherine Heigl.Christina Aguilera was a contender for the main role but decided to turn it down because she was promoting her albumBack to Basics at the time.[5][6]
The closing credits roll over cast members' baby photos. The image of Joanna Kerns as a young mother was previously famous from its use in the opening credits ofGrowing Pains' first few seasons.
Bennett Miller, the director ofCapote, appears in amockumentary DVD feature called "Directing the Director" in which he is allegedly hired by the studio to supervise Apatow's work. However, he only interferes with it, eventually leading the two into afist fight.
The film opened at No. 2 at the U.S. box office, grossing $30,690,990 in its opening weekend, behindPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End's second weekend. The film grossed $148,768,917 domestically and $70,307,601 in foreign territories, totaling $219,076,518. The film also spent eight weeks in the box office top ten, the longest streak amongst May–June openers in 2007.[7] A company that specializes in tracking responses to advertising spanning multiple types of media attributed the film'sunexpected financial success to the use of radio and television ads in combination.[8]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Knocked Up has an approval rating of 89%, based on 253 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Knocked Up is a hilarious, poignant and refreshing look at the rigors of courtship and child-rearing, with a sometimes raunchy, yet savvy script that is ably acted and directed."[9] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 85 out of 100, based on reviews from 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[10] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[11]
TheLos Angeles Times praised the film's humor despite its plot inconsistencies, noting that, "probably because the central story doesn't quite gel, it's the loony, incidental throwaway moments that really make an impression."[12] Chris Kaltenbach ofThe Baltimore Sun acknowledged the comic value of the film in spite of its shortcomings, saying, "Yes, the storyline meanders and too many scenes drone on;Knocked Up is in serious need of a good editor. But the laughs are plentiful, and it's the rare movie these days where one doesn't feel guilty about finding the whole thing funny."[13]
Variety magazine, while calling the film predictable, said thatKnocked Up was "explosively funny."[14] On the television showEbert & Roeper,Richard Roeper and guest criticDavid Edelstein gaveKnocked Up a "two big thumbs up" rating, with Roeper calling it "likable and real," noting that although "at times things drag a little bit.... stillKnocked Up earns its sentimental moments."[15]
A more critical review inTime magazine noted that, although a typical Hollywood-style comedic farce, the unexpected short-term success of the film may be more attributable to a sociological phenomenon rather than the quality or uniqueness of the filmper se, positing that the movie's shock value, sexual humor, and historically taboo themes may have created a brief nationwide discussion in which movie-goers would see the film "so they can join the debate if only to say it wasn't that good."[16]
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Mike White (longtime associate ofJudd Apatow and screenwriter forSchool of Rock,Freaks and Geeks,Orange County, andNacho Libre) is said to have been "disenchanted" by Apatow's later films, "objecting to the treatment of women and gay men in Apatow's recent movies", saying ofKnocked Up, "At some point, it starts feeling like a comedy of the bullies, rather than the bullied."[17]
In early reviews, bothSlate's Dana Stevens and theLos Angeles Times' Carina Chocano wrote articles claiming the film propagated sexist attitudes, a topic which was the primary focus of aSlate magazinepodcast in whichNew York editorEmily Nussbaum said: "Alison [Heigl's character] made basically zero sense. She was just a completely inconsistent character.... she was this pleasant, blandly hot, peculiarly tolerant, yet oddlyblank nice girl. She seemed to have no actual needs or desires of her own...."[18]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times explicitly comparedKnocked Up toJuno, calling the latter a "feminist, girl-powered rejoinder and complement toKnocked Up."[19]
In a laterVanity Fair interview, lead actressKatherine Heigl admitted that though she enjoyed working with Apatow and Rogen, she had a hard time enjoying the film itself, calling it "a little sexist" and claiming that the film "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys."[20][21][22]
In response, Apatow did not deny the validity of her accusations, saying, "I'm just shocked she [Heigl] used the wordshrew. I mean, what is this, the 1600s?"[23] Apatow also said that the characters in the filmKnocked Up "are sexist at times... but it's really about immature people who are afraid of women and relationships and learn to grow up."[24]
Heigl's comments spurred a widespread reaction in the media, including aHuffington Post article in which she was labeled "an assertive, impatient go-getter who quickly tired of waiting for her boyfriend to propose".[25][26] Heigl clarified her initial comments toPeople magazine, stating that, "My motive was to encourage other women like myself to not take that element of the movie too seriously and to remember that it's a broad comedy," adding that, "Although I stand behind my opinion, I'm disheartened that it has become the focus of my experience with the movie."[27]
Meghan O'Rourke ofSlate called Heigl's comments unsurprising, noting "Knocked Up was, asDavid Denby put it inThe New Yorker, the culminating artifact in what had become 'the dominant romantic-comedy trend of the past several years—the slovenly hipster and the female straight arrow.'"[28]The Guardian noted that Heigl's comments "provoked quite a backlash, and Heigl was described as ungrateful and a traitor".[29] In the wake of mounting accusations of sexism, directorJudd Apatow discussed ways he might develop more authentic female characters.[30]
In July 2009, while promoting their filmFunny People Apatow and Rogen appeared onThe Howard Stern Show and defended the work inKnocked Up, disagreeing with the position Heigl had stated. Rogen pointed to Heigl's work in the filmThe Ugly Truth to illustrate his point. Rogen said: "I hear there's a scene where she's wearing underwear with a vibrator in it, so I'd have to see if that is uplifting for women." Apatow remarked on Heigl's criticisms, stating that he had expected an apology from Heigl. "You would think at some point I'd get a call saying she was sorry, that she was tired, and then the call never comes."[31]
In August 2016, Rogen again spoke toHoward Stern about how he had felt hurt and somewhat betrayed back then by Heigl's comments. He went on to talk about what a great rapport they'd had on set while working together, and that at the time he had even envisioned making many more movies with her. Though Rogen wishes she would have apologized to him personally as opposed to publicly, he affirmed that he still really liked her, and that he never would have wanted the incident to hurt her career.[32]
Heigl responded that Rogen had "handled that so beautifully," and that she felt nothing but "love and respect" for him. "It was so long ago at this point, I just wish him so much goodness, and I felt that from him, too," she said.[33]
Canadian authorRebecca Eckler wrote inMaclean's magazine about the similarities between the movie and her book,Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-Be, which was released in the U.S. in March 2005. She pursued legal action against Apatow and Universal Pictures on the basis of copyright infringement.[34][35] In a public statement, Apatow said, "Anyone who reads the book and sees the movie will instantly know that they are two very different stories about a common experience."[36]
Another Canadian author,Patricia Pearson, also publicly claimed similarities between the film and her novel,Playing House. She declined to sue and declared Eckler's lawsuit to be frivolous.[37]
The film made the top-ten list of the jury for the2007 AFI Awards as well as the top-ten lists of several well-known critics, with the AFI jury calling it the "funniest, freshest comedy of this generation" and a film that "stretches the boundaries of romantic comedies." John Newman, a respected film critic for the Boston Bubble, called the film "a better, raunchy, modern version ofSome Like it Hot."[38]
Early on the film was deemed the best-reviewed wide release of 2007 by the Rotten Tomatoes website.[39]
The film appeared on many critics' top-ten lists of the best films of 2007.[40]
On December 16, 2007, the film was chosen by theAmerican Film Institute as one of theten best movies of the year. It was one of the two pregnancy comedies on the list (Juno being the other).E! News praised the film's success with the AFI, saying that, "The unplanned pregnancy comedy, shut out of the Golden Globes and passed over by the L.A. and New York critics, was one of 10 films selected Sunday for the American Film Institute's year-end honors."[43]
Strange Weirdos: Music From and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up, an original soundtrack album, was composed for the film byfolk singer-songwriterLoudon Wainwright III andJoe Henry. However, the movie's lead song "Daughter" was written byPeter Blegvad.
In addition to Wainwright's tracks, there were approximately 40 songs featured in the motion picture that were not included on the official soundtrack on Concord Records.[45]
Some of the songs featured inKnocked Up are:
Several separateRegion 1 DVD versions were released on September 25, 2007. The theatricalR-rated version (128 minutes), an "Unrated and Unprotected" version (133 minutes) (separate fullscreen and widescreen editions available), a two-disc "Extended and Unrated" collector's edition, and anHD DVD "Unrated and Unprotected" version. On November 7, 2008,Knocked Up was released onBlu-ray following the discontinuation of HD DVD, along with other Apatow comediesThe 40-Year-Old Virgin andForgetting Sarah Marshall.
Variety reported in January 2011 that Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann would reprise theirKnocked Up roles for a new film written and directed by Apatow, titledThis Is 40.[46] Apatow had stated that it would not be a sequel or prequel toKnocked Up, but a spin-off, focusing on Pete and Debbie, the couple played by Rudd and Mann.[47] The film was shot in the summer of 2011,[47] and was released on December 21, 2012.[48]
In March 2022, Apatow was announced to be in early development of writing a third film, set 10 years afterThis Is 40 and titledThis is 50.[49]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Among last year's May and June openers, only "Knocked Up" lasted in the top 10 for eight weeks
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