Not everyone likes Knocked Up. Take Variety editor Peter Bart, for instance. Three months ago, he was skewering film critics as elitist and out of touch for their unenthusiastic responses to such spring 2007 box-office hits as Norbit, 300, and Wild Hogs and suggesting that reviewers take a sabbatical until summer ends and the Oscar-baiting serious movies come out. (This while he begrudgingly admitted that those movies weren’t very good and that audiences "deserve better than they are getting.") Now, however, comes a summer-movie hit that finds critics in sync with audiences, and Bart still isn’t happy with the reviews, singling out for particular scorn the remark by EW’s Lisa Schwarzbaum that Knocked Up is "the very model of a great comedy for our values-driven time."
To Bart, the movie’s values are "f—ed up" and "defy credibility." He thinks the movie wimps out because Alison (Katherine Heigl, pictured at left, with costar Leslie Mann) doesn’t get an abortion and because Ben (Seth Rogen) abandons slackerdom for responsible fatherhood. (I guess Bart preferred the values of Norbit, a movie that urged audiences to root for the protagonist to leave his repulsive wife for a younger, slimmer, prettier love interest. Maybe those values are more credible in Variety’s Hollywood, where actors and executives do that sort of thing all the time.) But let’s be fair to Bart; he’s not the only one confused by the complex and ambiguous message Knocked Up conveys — if, indeed, it has a message at all.
There are a number of pundits on the left side of the blogosphere (for instance, here, here, and here) who, like Bart, find the film’s values too reactionary. How feminist, after all, is it for the movie to discount abortion as an option, or to saddle smart and beautiful Alison with schlubby Ben? Meanwhile, over on the right side of the blogosphere, they’re just as torn. The pundits (here, here, and here) are glad that the film rejects abortion and embraces the nuclear family, but they’re alarmed by the raunchy humor and all the screen time given to the lazy, drug- and porn-loving guys.
Seems to me that neither side gets to claim this movie. Or maybe both sides do. Like writer/director Judd Apatow’s previous feature, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up appears to endorse traditional values (in Virgin’s case, that meant the notion that sex is better if you save it until you’re married) but wallows in hilarious raunch on the way toward that tidy moral. Apatow’s movies get to have their cake and eat it too, to work both sides of the aisle, which is one reason everybody likes them — at least, everybody who isn’t trying to use them to score ideological points.
More relevant, perhaps, is that those two plot hurdles in Knocked Up — that a guy like Ben could score with a gal like Alison, and that she’d go ahead and have his baby — are there because without them, there’s no movie. Maybe Apatow’s not trying to impart a moral or political lesson; maybe he’s just trying to make you laugh.
Comments (1-30) of 64
That was an awesome response, Gary. I couldn’t agree with you more – it is not a parable or other biblical lesson – it is a comedic movie, people.
Sounds like Peter Bart is an idiot.
Peter Bart, you need to unclench.
It’s just a funny movie with heart; they need to keep the baby (and get together) for the story to work, as I’m not sure even Apatow could make a movie about abortion funny. Although there was one jet-black comedy about pregnancy, Citizen Ruth, and that was good. But I think Knocked Up doesn’t have an agenda and isn’t trying to say anything really deep except that maybe it would be nice, and a little sweet, for these two to try to start a family together. And I think the movie is mostly saying: isn’t it fun to just laugh hysterically at great characters and clever writing? To have a good time?
I have to say, it amazes me how many people, even on the ew message boards, want to make this movie some kind of a political “statement.” The move is FUNNY. I’m sorry, but considering how lame most movies are that come out of Hollywood, the notion that one movie just wants to entertain you is sort of revolutionary.
I saw Knocked Up this morning. I don’t go in for the “guy humor” and was embarrassed more than a few times. I loved the movie and recommended it to my daughter’s daycare provider. Bart’s comments anger me as a woman. The film accurately portrayed the anguish of an unexpected pregnancy (Heigl crying at ObGyn appt, discrimination at Academy awards, hormonal and physical changes,birth scene). Being a parent is tough and most of us need a film like Knocked up to help us laugh at ourselves. Either that or a fantasy baseball team.
I don’t understnd how allison NOT getting an abortion is decidedly unfeminist…isn’t that what the power of CHOICE is all about? I am against abortion, and can’t help but feel there are many women out there who support the right to choose, yet would never choose that path for themselves or their unborn child.
This movie had a good story line, however it was 30 – 45 miuntes to long and the screen play writers had no imagination. A little more thought and a quicker wit would have been a refreshing change from the 500 plus times they used the F-word. After the first 100 times it lost it’s impact. A good story line, good actors, very poor screen play. If you have the maturity level of a twelve year old and you giggle everytime you hear the F Word or you get excited over crude humor, this movie is for you. For those of you who took your young children to this movie and sat there laughing, it is time for you to turn in your parenting card and grow up yourself.
It was a funny movie that made me laugh. I would see it again. I went to the movies to be entertained not to be given a lesson in feminism or anything else. I was entertained, mission accomplished.
Perhaps having not read the original review, this is where my confusion lies, but I also think that right to choose includes the right to carry the pregnancy full-term. The point is that the option for family-planning exists, not that a person _has_ to take it. Saying otherwise is the real argument against feminism.
…At least, if I were overanalyzing that’s what I say. Echoing the people who think that’s not the point of the movie. Storytelling is supposed to include “what if” scenarios. If Bart didn’t like this particular one…well, fanfiction also exists, tell him to go write it. :p
It’s a really funny movie. People need to stop trying to say it’s to liberal or conservative and just laugh a little or they wouldn’t feel the need to disect this film.
Easy answer: if she had an abortion, the movie would be over. Peter Bart needs to get over himself and stop trying to impose his own agenda on a gross out comedy.
The movie is called “Knocked up!”, not “Abortion: The Comedy”! Allison made a choice by keeping the child. The movie is heartfelt and funny, it drives me crazy that people always have to project politics on everything!
Forget all this – Judd Apatow is banging Leslie Mann? NICE!
It is completely silly to put a liberal or conservative spin on “Knocked Up” becauses it skewers most everyone’s perceptions about parenthood and family. And in a good way.
It’s libservative. Coniberal?
Now I thought the movie was funny. I think Apatow’s team is stellar. I think they’ve got wit coming out their yin-yangs. But because of all these things, I expect more. The problem isn’t so much the abortion issue, but rather the lack of female perspective. The writers have no trouble articulating the male side of the arguments, but fall short when the women have their say. Why are all the revelations between men? Why doesn’t Heigl’s character have any friends? The male-bonding, buddy movie is nothing new, and we shouldn’t attribute Apatow’s gang for inventing the wheel. How hard would it be to include a funny woman on the writing staff and make this movie complete?
I did find it a little unbelievable not that she chose to keep the baby but that she really wanted to include him in the baby’s life after realizing he had no job, was a complete stoner and barely remembered having sex with her at first. Considering how successful she was on her own, it seemed odd.
I liked the movie but wanted to like it more. Feel like there were a bunch of funny bits but wasn’t as hilarious as a movie like the 40 Year Old Virgin. Also, the characters weren’t nearly as likeable in this movie as in that movie.
So it’s exclusively conservative for a girl to NOT get an abortion and stick with the natural father? A liberal CAN’T be responsible for a storyline that promotes such behavior? This is very silly.
I’ve heard plenty of talk from Apatow and the other peripheral members of the Frat Pack and there’s absolutely no sign of these guys being anything but liberals. Excoriating them for not proactively shoving pro-abortion propaganda down our throats is unbelievably small-minded.
i call this the “fox Effect”. where eveything on tv or in the movies has to have some sort of liberal or conservative bias. why cant a movie just be a movie?! it began when Fox news began pointing out the liberal bias in EVERYTHING. the last movie i saw was spiderman 3. not once was i thinking about the underlying political themes within the film.
This is the best summer movie to date, fortunately the box office is reflecting that reality. The movie succeeds on every level, and my response to the person that complained of Alison’s lack of friends is that she has one very close friend who clearly outweighs all of Ben’s friends in relative importance in their lives: her sister. Further, Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd deserve a great amount of credit for this film’s success. The truth is that this movie is about two couples: the newly pregnant one and the married one. Both couples confront issues that every couple in their situations faces on some level at some point. Particularly hilarious for me (we just had our first child in March) was the sex scene between Alison and Ben when she is pregnant and he freaks out because he thinks he will hurt the baby: this is a pretty universal male experience; I confronted that exact situation with my wife. As for politics, are we so politicized now that this really matters? Get over it!
I completely agree with Jason. I loved the movie but it did have more of a buddy comedy feel than a romatic comedy. Half way through I realized they weren’t really exploring Alison’s character but they were spending an awful lot of time with the guys, and as a woman, that was irritating. Glad I’m not the only one who noticed that. But that’s really my only complaint. It was the funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time.
Why is it that pundits and “journalists” have to grind everything down to either liberal or conservative. Both sides are acting like idiots. It just goes to show that ideas like abortion and gay marriage are not on the minds of your average American every minute of the day like it is for these losers. It’s meant to be a funny movie. As much as I believe that abortion should be a choice every woman has, it’s not funny; it doesn’t belong in a comedy. That’s why we make serious dramas! I do have to say that Ms. Schwarzbaum’s comment about our “values-driven time” is complete garbage. Our “times” are no more value-driven they’ve ever been; she too is falling pray to politics by making that silly statement.
I love that Apatow sticks to more of a male’s POV. He even admitted that these films can best be described as romantic comedies for men. That said, it’s not like the women in this film have no perspective. Leslie Mann steals so many great scenes! And Katherine Heigl’s subplot of being a successful working woman at E was hilareous (also give kudos to Kristen Wiig).
Everyone gets a say in this film and the viewer doesn’t leave feeling depressed. Not easy to do these days.
Your comments concerning the level of swearing in the movie crack me up. The “F-Word” is not used to have an impact, it is used because that is the way that young people (and certainly people like Ben and his friends) talk to one another. I 2007, the “F-Word” is not a curse word so much as it is a verb, a noun, a pro-noun, etc. Hope you can hear me back there in 1952…
Apatow forced droves of men to go see a film about a baby! Brilliant.
I agree with most posts, this was a funny movie, not a political statement. I think that you have the bipartisan nature of American politics to blame for “issues” like these. Because there are only two parties, there’s this automatic assumption that there has to be a Republican and a Democrat viewpoint on EVERYTHING, from politics to social problems, and now apparently to movies. I live in Canada, where we have many political parties, and I guarantee you that this issue would have never even been considered here.
It’s a movie! Like it or don’t like it. Don’t make it more than it is.
While I agree this movie is more about Ben and the impact the pregnancy has on him, I think the movie has some very strong points for both Alison and her sister. In fact, I think the movie is one of the best I have seen with respect to what it feels like to be a woman in her early 30’s facing a decline in the things that used to define her (looks) vs. the things that will define her in the future (wife/motherhood). Aptow deals with these topics both honestly and realistically.
It’s a freakin’ movie. The whole idea seems out of place! But that’s a movie. I mean everything has its nonsensical parts.
Thanks for ruining this for me, Peter Bart and all. I haven’t seen the movie yet and now I’m going to be looking for political angles. Man, I just wanted to laugh. If a movie is labeled as a comedy, let’s just leave it at that!
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