Knocked Up is one of the early movies from Judd Apatow, and it’s one that I consider to be a comedy classic of the mid-2000s. This movie was actually a pretty big deal when it came out, which is surprising because I really don’t hear it talked about much anymore. When it came out, though, I remember everyone seeing it and talking about it, and it was considered to be one of the best new comedies at the time. I’ve rewatched it recently, and I think it still holds up as a really funny movie.

The movie centers around Ben and Alison, two totally different people that end up meeting each other at a bar. Ben is an unemployed stoner who has no real prospects in life and just lives with a few other of his best friends, while Alison is a career-driven woman who just received a promotion. The two meet at a bar and end up having a one-night stand. Alison is repulsed at her actions the next day, and doesn’t continue talking to Ben after that. That is…until 8 weeks later, when Alison discovers that she’s pregnant. Now, these two mismatched people must make some major adjustments to their lives in order to try to raise a baby together.

The premise here is really smart in that it’s surprisingly effective in its simplicity. This sounds like your average rom-com Bridget Jones style plot, yet Judd Apatow executes it in a brilliant, fresh way. To me, though, while the humor behind the premise works really well, where the movie shines in its character-based humor. This isn’t surprising when you’re working with the cast that you have here. The leads are played by Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl, but the rest of the main cast features actors like Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, and Martin Starr. There’s even some amazing comedic actors that are featured in much smaller roles that we only see for a scene or two, such as Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Craig Robinson, and Harold Ramis. This is a really fantastic cast, and so it’s unsurprising that they play such eccentric and hilarious characters.

While this kind of compliment doesn’t lend itself to expanding upon it in a review, the best thing about Knocked Up is simply its comedy. Which, of course, is the main point of making a comedy. It’s hard to say why it’s so funny since humor is so subjective, but when you find something that works as well as Knocked Up does, the best compliment you can give it is that it’s so funny that you need to see it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s easy to tell that this was made in the mid-2000s when you have things like gay jokes pop up in the movie, so if you’re going to get offended by that style of humor then this might not be for you, but other than that I think it holds up really well. This is one of my favorite Apatow movies, and I highly recommend it.

4.5/5