SXSW Gets "Knocked Up"
By Sarah Carlson
March 13, 2007
Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) is a spaztastic stoner who has spent the last few years of his life creating the Web site Flesh of the Stars, which tells audiences which movies offer up nude scenes of their favorite actors (of course, it's still under construction). Allison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming entertainment reporter whose greatest form of relaxation comes from drinking the occasional Corona in her favorite L.A. club.
The fact that these two ever hook up, even under the helpful hand of booze, is a miracle; even more miraculous is that they spend nearly the entire running time of Judd Apatow's hilarious "Knocked Up" trying to make their relationship work for the sake of the embryo that resulted from their accidental tryst.
But the biggest miracle? The two likable stars make it all easy to believe and incredibly easy to watch; in a film that could have easily pandered to opposites attract and expectant mother clichés, "Knocked Up" sidesteps them all.
The film screened at SXSW on Monday, selling out the Paramount Theater and filling any empty space with eruptions of laughter. The film will be released in theaters June 1.
Also starring Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd as Allison's sister and brother-in-law, "Knocked Up" follows in the steps of Apatow's previous film "40-Year-Old Virgin," which tempered its raunchy sense of humor with plenty of heart. What started out as a film about a hard-to-believe hookup becomes a narrative not only about unexpected love, but also about the difficult process of at long last growing up.
For more on "Knocked Up," see the March 22 issue of The Insider, where we'll name our picks for the best of the fest.
-- Erin Steele
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