Mini-Reviews: "Knocked Up," "Suffering Man's Charity"
By Sarah Carlson
March 22, 2007
‘Knocked Up’ is a knockout
At the beginning of “Knocked Up,” Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) is having a spaztastic time with his stoner friends, participating in the kind of juvenile joviality that would barely be excused in boys half his age. Meanwhile, Allison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is waking up to the drone of her alarm clock, ready for another day of climbing the corporate ladder as an entertainment reporter at E!
We know that the two will soon hurtle into each other’s stratospheres, not only because film history has trained us to expect it, but also because the movie’s title tells us there will be both a meeting and a mating. What’s extraordinary is the way “Knocked Up” sidesteps clichés on its way to the inevitable hookup: The movie shows the coupling is not so much opposites attract as loneliness loves company.
Perhaps that’s why despite outlandish situations, the punchiest of punchlines, and the rather startling presence of Cirque du Soleil (don’t ask), “Knocked Up” is cloaked within an atmosphere of truth. Ben and Allison spend much of the film clinging to the rigidity of their ways of life, only to find, by film’s end, that sometimes it’s necessary to at long last grow up (and, in some cases, give in).
Maybe this all sounds a little serious for a film directed by “40-Year-Old Virgin” helmer Judd Apatow, but “Knocked Up” builds on the maturity hidden within “Virgin.” Told equally from the male and female perspective (and finding humor in both genders’ situations), “Knocked Up” is likely to score more laughs (and nods of appreciation) from a wider audience than “Virgin” tapped into. Add to the equation fine comedic performances from Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd (as Allison’s sister and brother-in-law, respectively), and you’ve got the heart and soul of the movie.
The film screened March 12 at SXSW, playing to a packed house at the Paramount, where audience members barely got a break from back-to-back laughs. It’s a testament to Apatow’s comic sensibilities that his humor reaches audiences of all ages, and even bigger testament to the film that its laughs stem equally from sincerity as sex. Look for it in theaters beginning June 1. -- Erin Steele
The charitable thing? Make ‘Suffering’ stop.
In Alan Cumming’s sour, dour and completely insufferable “Charity,” the director/actor plays a washed-up music teacher whose lack of talent and suppressed lust drives him to extremes he never dreamed possible. It’s almost the perfect set-up for a black comedy, complete with over-the-top performances and exaggerated emotions, but somehow the clunkiness of Thomas Gallagher’s screenplay never allows “Charity” to reach its full potential; there’s too much blackness and not enough comedy.
Cumming’s directorial follow-up to “The Anniversary Party,” “Charity” also stars “Angel” actor David Boreanaz as Cumming’s object of affection and anger. Their relationship, for the small amount of time we’re allowed to see them interact, is perhaps the most intriguing part of the film. If “Charity” would have further explored the idea of mentor turned tormentor, it might have been a far superior movie. -- Erin Steele
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