Knocked Up
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Knocked Up
When approaching a film by Judd Apatow, a few words should appear in your mind very naturally: Rude, vile, crude, and probably any other words along the lines of the previous three. Judd Apatow doesn't hold back when it comes to comedies, and he certainly does not aim to be politically correct in any form or way. He is not going to go the traditional slapstick humor and expect you to laugh, nor is he the kind of writer that goes for pure-wit related humor either. He puts forth the kind of humor that we experience in our everyday lives, but not exactly the kind that we receive in the theaters. Judd Apatow takes those little conversations that we have over a couple of cold beers and flashes them out on screen in the most raw, unedited version. The result is the kind of comedy that relates to everybody and yet, amidst the humor a kind of subtle message that gives warmth to the viewers.
I've been wanting to watch Knocked Up ever since the trailer was released on Apple.com. Putting Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl together as a couple on screen is just the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Besides, it is from the same writer and director of the 40 Year-Old Virgin which I had a good laugh out of, so why not? It was a great day to begin with, with much of the music presentation nailed in and settled. The weather was great, and Jeremy rode Joyce, Chonghui and myself down to town to catch the film.
The plot is really about two people who are poles apart in terms of everything. Katherine Heigl plays Allison, who works at E! and gets a promotion from her boss. As a form of celebration, she goes clubbing with her sister and wanted to have some fun through the night. At the club, she meets Ben Stone - the fat, unattractive, doped and average looking guy - whom she sleeps with that night and had a one night stand. Little did they know that during the intercourse, an accident occurred and Allison was unexpectedly, pregnant. So the decided to come together, get to know each other, and see where the relationship goes before the child is born. Along the way, we get to see both parties trying to get used to their new lives as parents, as well as each other. Alison is the kind of character with goals in her life, and a light at the end of the tunnel. Ben is the owner of a porn website along with his friends, and that is basically his job scope. He lives off the compensation money that was paid to him a few years ago after a van ran over his feet, and he has been eating spaghetti ever since.
It was hilarious to see how the two interacted with each other, and tried to get used to the fact that they were attached to one another. Being poles apart, it almost looked like a herculean task, and it didn't start out smoothly at all. They went through fights, they went through arguments, and Alison had to get used to Ben's creepy friends while he had to get used to her sister's dysfunctional family. It was interesting to see the relationship break and then patch up over the course of the film, the way it resonated my own relationship in the distant past. The way they argued was so similar to my own that I couldn't help but laugh in the cinema itself. The way the girl would always use their hormones as excuses to be irrational, or the way it'd seem inappropriate to dissect a problem and to list out the solutions. Oh, those days, those days. Those hellish days.
Like I mentioned before, Judd Apatow doesn't hesitate to be crude about his humor. He is not going to censor certain words, or images, or lines that are going to bring blood shooting to your face. These are the kind of things you hear only over conversations in bars and pubs, and rarely to you hear them spoken so blatantly like that. Initially, you blush at the stuff shown on screen and heard over the speakers, but then you think to yourself and realize that these are exactly the things that happen in our own lives. That is perhaps the best part about Judd Apatow's film making, and that is the fact that he does not hold anything back.
Another aspect of his film making that is rather admirable is perhaps his ability to weave messages into the comedy seamlessly. This movie - as mentioned - is about unplanned pregnancy, and you really see how people react in such situations. From the first time you vomit to the moment you reveal the truth to the child's father. All of those emotions are real, and those are the kind of things you experience in real life as well. I've been through some of those myself, though that is not to say I have knocked up anybody in my entire life. I can only imagine how it'd be like to have a woman come up to me after our one night stand eight weeks ago, and tell me that she is pregnant with my child. The mental image of me jumping into a car and then driving all the way to China would ensue after the confession for sure, followed by a momentary blankness in the mind perhaps. It's just not the kind of situation you would want to land in, with the kind of unnecessary responsibility resting on your shoulders.
I'm sure Ben felt that when Alison told him across the dinner table one night. It just sort of popped out, and I don't suppose there is a better way in telling people that you are pregnant. It'd be a test of character I suppose, to say that you are pregnant and see how your male partner would react. It was nice of Ben to actually take responsibility of the situation, actually. I mean, you wouldn't expect a character like Ben in real life to take any responsibility for this girl that he slept with for one night. It was fun, and not exactly passion or love involved in their love making, so it wasn't exactly a great thing to make her pregnant altogether. However, I thought he did a great job at trying to fit into the role as a father, and it certainly shone through the film very well.
Like I mentioned before, so many arguments in this movie reminded me of how I was like when I was with her. It didn't matter too much about the presence of strangers on the street, because we would just argue in front of everybody. She would use the 'irrational' card, very much like Alison in the film, and say that it is OK to be unreasonable and irrational because she's upset and pissed off. And of course, the times when you have to agree with her even if she is obviously in the wrong. These are the little things that I went through - that we all go through - as a fraction of a relationship. It was pleasant to see somebody noticing that and writing it into a script; that amidst the laughter and the breasts, there's something to be taken away from this film rather than an aching stomach at the very end.
I read in an article this morning, and the statistics were shocking to say the least. In Singapore, 13% between 16 and 23 have sex, but only 36% of them use contraceptives regularly. 13% is probably a pathetic figure compared to the statistics in the Western world, but to see that merely 36% of them uses contraceptives regularly is as good as a slap in the face for all the sex education the school ever tried to implement. You start to ask yourself what those teenagers were thinking when they decided not to use a bloody condom in the case of sex, when it is more than just STDs you are preventing but also unnecessary responsibilities. There are times when you become ashamed for the youths of your own country for how ignorant and stupid they can get sometimes. If you are not going to use it for the diseases, then use it to prevent accidents. It is worth doing, so why the hell not.
Perhaps schools should start showing Knocked Up to the students. Unless they are ready to take up such responsibilities as accidental fathers, then go on ahead and not use contraceptives the next time they have sex. All I am saying is, there are things that are worth risking and things that you shouldn't try at all. I wouldn't go against anybody who decided to leap off the top of a roof into a swimming pool for example, but definitely not sex without condoms. It is just stupid for you to try something as unsafe and unpredictable as that, as the characters of the movie can justify.
So, at the end of the day, Knocked Up is not only a good film to watch over the weekend for a good dosage of crude humor, but also a great educational movie. I feel that students should be shown this video, instead of those gory abortion videos they still show in schools. Seriously, would you rather watch a movie with two characters trying to take responsibility for each other, or videos of babies being ripped apart in a woman's womb. Yeah, I know. It's not a difficult choice. Now, take out that ten dollar note and go to the nearest box office now. It is going to be worth your money, and with the remaining money go buy a condom - just in case.
When approaching a film by Judd Apatow, a few words should appear in your mind very naturally: Rude, vile, crude, and probably any other words along the lines of the previous three. Judd Apatow doesn't hold back when it comes to comedies, and he certainly does not aim to be politically correct in any form or way. He is not going to go the traditional slapstick humor and expect you to laugh, nor is he the kind of writer that goes for pure-wit related humor either. He puts forth the kind of humor that we experience in our everyday lives, but not exactly the kind that we receive in the theaters. Judd Apatow takes those little conversations that we have over a couple of cold beers and flashes them out on screen in the most raw, unedited version. The result is the kind of comedy that relates to everybody and yet, amidst the humor a kind of subtle message that gives warmth to the viewers.
I've been wanting to watch Knocked Up ever since the trailer was released on Apple.com. Putting Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl together as a couple on screen is just the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Besides, it is from the same writer and director of the 40 Year-Old Virgin which I had a good laugh out of, so why not? It was a great day to begin with, with much of the music presentation nailed in and settled. The weather was great, and Jeremy rode Joyce, Chonghui and myself down to town to catch the film.
The plot is really about two people who are poles apart in terms of everything. Katherine Heigl plays Allison, who works at E! and gets a promotion from her boss. As a form of celebration, she goes clubbing with her sister and wanted to have some fun through the night. At the club, she meets Ben Stone - the fat, unattractive, doped and average looking guy - whom she sleeps with that night and had a one night stand. Little did they know that during the intercourse, an accident occurred and Allison was unexpectedly, pregnant. So the decided to come together, get to know each other, and see where the relationship goes before the child is born. Along the way, we get to see both parties trying to get used to their new lives as parents, as well as each other. Alison is the kind of character with goals in her life, and a light at the end of the tunnel. Ben is the owner of a porn website along with his friends, and that is basically his job scope. He lives off the compensation money that was paid to him a few years ago after a van ran over his feet, and he has been eating spaghetti ever since.
It was hilarious to see how the two interacted with each other, and tried to get used to the fact that they were attached to one another. Being poles apart, it almost looked like a herculean task, and it didn't start out smoothly at all. They went through fights, they went through arguments, and Alison had to get used to Ben's creepy friends while he had to get used to her sister's dysfunctional family. It was interesting to see the relationship break and then patch up over the course of the film, the way it resonated my own relationship in the distant past. The way they argued was so similar to my own that I couldn't help but laugh in the cinema itself. The way the girl would always use their hormones as excuses to be irrational, or the way it'd seem inappropriate to dissect a problem and to list out the solutions. Oh, those days, those days. Those hellish days.
Like I mentioned before, Judd Apatow doesn't hesitate to be crude about his humor. He is not going to censor certain words, or images, or lines that are going to bring blood shooting to your face. These are the kind of things you hear only over conversations in bars and pubs, and rarely to you hear them spoken so blatantly like that. Initially, you blush at the stuff shown on screen and heard over the speakers, but then you think to yourself and realize that these are exactly the things that happen in our own lives. That is perhaps the best part about Judd Apatow's film making, and that is the fact that he does not hold anything back.
Another aspect of his film making that is rather admirable is perhaps his ability to weave messages into the comedy seamlessly. This movie - as mentioned - is about unplanned pregnancy, and you really see how people react in such situations. From the first time you vomit to the moment you reveal the truth to the child's father. All of those emotions are real, and those are the kind of things you experience in real life as well. I've been through some of those myself, though that is not to say I have knocked up anybody in my entire life. I can only imagine how it'd be like to have a woman come up to me after our one night stand eight weeks ago, and tell me that she is pregnant with my child. The mental image of me jumping into a car and then driving all the way to China would ensue after the confession for sure, followed by a momentary blankness in the mind perhaps. It's just not the kind of situation you would want to land in, with the kind of unnecessary responsibility resting on your shoulders.
I'm sure Ben felt that when Alison told him across the dinner table one night. It just sort of popped out, and I don't suppose there is a better way in telling people that you are pregnant. It'd be a test of character I suppose, to say that you are pregnant and see how your male partner would react. It was nice of Ben to actually take responsibility of the situation, actually. I mean, you wouldn't expect a character like Ben in real life to take any responsibility for this girl that he slept with for one night. It was fun, and not exactly passion or love involved in their love making, so it wasn't exactly a great thing to make her pregnant altogether. However, I thought he did a great job at trying to fit into the role as a father, and it certainly shone through the film very well.
Like I mentioned before, so many arguments in this movie reminded me of how I was like when I was with her. It didn't matter too much about the presence of strangers on the street, because we would just argue in front of everybody. She would use the 'irrational' card, very much like Alison in the film, and say that it is OK to be unreasonable and irrational because she's upset and pissed off. And of course, the times when you have to agree with her even if she is obviously in the wrong. These are the little things that I went through - that we all go through - as a fraction of a relationship. It was pleasant to see somebody noticing that and writing it into a script; that amidst the laughter and the breasts, there's something to be taken away from this film rather than an aching stomach at the very end.
I read in an article this morning, and the statistics were shocking to say the least. In Singapore, 13% between 16 and 23 have sex, but only 36% of them use contraceptives regularly. 13% is probably a pathetic figure compared to the statistics in the Western world, but to see that merely 36% of them uses contraceptives regularly is as good as a slap in the face for all the sex education the school ever tried to implement. You start to ask yourself what those teenagers were thinking when they decided not to use a bloody condom in the case of sex, when it is more than just STDs you are preventing but also unnecessary responsibilities. There are times when you become ashamed for the youths of your own country for how ignorant and stupid they can get sometimes. If you are not going to use it for the diseases, then use it to prevent accidents. It is worth doing, so why the hell not.
Perhaps schools should start showing Knocked Up to the students. Unless they are ready to take up such responsibilities as accidental fathers, then go on ahead and not use contraceptives the next time they have sex. All I am saying is, there are things that are worth risking and things that you shouldn't try at all. I wouldn't go against anybody who decided to leap off the top of a roof into a swimming pool for example, but definitely not sex without condoms. It is just stupid for you to try something as unsafe and unpredictable as that, as the characters of the movie can justify.
So, at the end of the day, Knocked Up is not only a good film to watch over the weekend for a good dosage of crude humor, but also a great educational movie. I feel that students should be shown this video, instead of those gory abortion videos they still show in schools. Seriously, would you rather watch a movie with two characters trying to take responsibility for each other, or videos of babies being ripped apart in a woman's womb. Yeah, I know. It's not a difficult choice. Now, take out that ten dollar note and go to the nearest box office now. It is going to be worth your money, and with the remaining money go buy a condom - just in case.
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on Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 11:04 PM.
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