Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and Martin Starr. It follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between a slacker and a recently promoted media personality that results in an unintended pregnancy.
Knocked Up was directed by Apatow, from a screenplay by himself. Apatow, Shauna Robertson and Clayton Townsend were involved in the film as producers for the film studio, Apatow Productions. Rogen and Evan Goldberg were involved in the film as executive producers. Filming began in May 2006, in various locations in the United States, with a focus on California, including Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The cinematography was in charge of Eric Edwards, while the soundtrack was composed by Loudon Wainwright III and Joe Henry. The film was edited by Brent White and Craig Alpert. The film had a budget of $25 million.
Knocked Up premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2007, and was released in the United States on June 1, 2007, by Universal Pictures. The film was a box office success, grossing $219 million worldwide, and received positive reviews from critics. This Is 40, a "sort-of sequel" focused on Rudd's and Mann's characters with Apatow returning as writer/director, was released on December 21, 2012.
Plot "Ambitious E! production staffer Alison Scott, who lives in Los Angeles with her sister Debbie and her family, has just been promoted to an on-air reporting role." Ben Stone is an immature and wisecracking Jewish Canadian slacker who lives off injury compensation funds and sparsely works on a celebrity pornographic website with his stoner roommates. While celebrating her promotion, Alison meets Ben at a local nightclub. After a night of heavy drinking, Ben and Alison have a one-night stand, and due to a miscommunication, Ben does not wear a condom. The following morning, they learn over breakfast that they have nothing in common, so they go their separate ways, leaving Ben disappointed.
Eight weeks later, Alison experiences morning sickness while interviewing James Franco, and she realizes she could be pregnant. She takes multiple pregnancy tests and is shocked to discover that she is pregnant. She contacts Ben for the first time since their one-night stand to tell him. Although abrasive at first, he says he will support her. While Ben is still unsure about being a parent, his father is overjoyed. Alison's mother tries to persuade her to have an abortion, but she decides to keep the child.
After getting to know one another more, Alison and Ben decide to give the relationship a chance. They become closer and prepare for their baby to arrive. Ben proposes with an empty ring box and promises to get Alison a ring someday. Alison thinks it is too early to think about marriage, as she is more concerned with hiding the pregnancy from her bosses, fearing they will fire her if they find out.
Alison increasingly worries about Ben's lack of support and understanding, and doubts about their relationship's longevity. These thoughts are due to Debbie's loveless marriage. Debbie's husband, Pete, works as a talent scout for rock bands, but leaves at strange hours in the night, making her suspect he is having an affair. Upon investigating, she learns that he is part of a fantasy baseball draft and has been doing other activities such as going to the movies on his own, which he explains he does to be free from Debbie's manipulative manner.
As a result, they separate, and when Ben expresses pride in Pete's deception, it leads to an argument with Alison as they drive to her doctor. Furious, she ejects him from her car, abandoning him in a busy street. He tracks her down at her appointment, and they have another argument, leading to their breakup.
Ben and Pete go on a road trip to Las Vegas. Under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms, they realize their loss and decide to try to save their relationships. Simultaneously, Debbie drags a nervous Alison out partying with her, but they are refused admission to a nightclub by its sympathetic bouncer on account of Debbie's age and Alison's pregnancy. This leads to Debbie's tearful laments about her life and desire to have Pete back. They reconcile at their daughter's birthday party, but when Ben tries to work things out with Alison, she refuses to get back together. Alison's boss finds out about her pregnancy and sees an opportunity to boost ratings with female viewers by having her interview pregnant celebrities. After a talk with his father, Ben decides to take responsibility and makes a great effort to mature, including obtaining his apartment, getting an office job as a web designer, and reading pregnancy books.
When Alison goes into labor and cannot contact her doctor, she calls Ben, as Debbie and Pete are out of town. After he discovers that Alison's gynecologist is at a Bar Mitzvah (despite emphatically insisting he never took vacations), Ben leaves him a profane voicemail. During labor, Alison apologizes for questioning Ben's priorities. When Debbie and Pete arrive at the hospital, Ben refuses to allow Debbie to be at Alison's side, insisting that it is his place. Debbie is incredulous and thankful that he took charge of the situation, and begins to change her formerly negative opinion of him. The couple welcomes a baby girl (a boy in the alternate ending) and starts a new life together.
Cast
Seth Rogen as Ben Stone Katherine Heigl as Allison Scott Paul Rudd as Pete, Debbie's husband and Allison's brother-in-law Leslie Mann as Debbie, Allison's older sister Jason Segel as Jason Jay Baruchel as Jay Jonah Hill as Jonah Martin Starr as Martin Lo Mutuc as Jodi Iris Apatow as Charlotte Maude Apatow as Sadie Harold Ramis as Harris Stone, Ben's father Joanna Kerns as Mrs. Scott, Alison's mother Alan Tudyk as Jack Kristen Wiig as Jill Bill Hader as Brent Ken Jeong as Dr. Kuni J. P. Manoux as Dr. Angelo Tim Bagley as Dr. Pellagrino B. J. Novak as Doctor Mo Collins as Doctor Loudon Wainwright as Dr. Howard Adam Scott as Samuel the Nurse Craig Robinson as Club Doorman Tami Sagher as Wardrobe Lady Paul Feig as Fantasty Baseball Guy Stormy Daniels as Lap Dancer Nick Thune as Alison's Friend
Themselves (uncredited)
Jessica Alba Steve Carell Andy Dick James Franco Eva Mendes Ryan Seacrest Dax Shepard
Production Several of the major cast members return from previous Judd Apatow projects: Seth Rogen, Martin Starr, Jason Segel, and James Franco all starred in the television series Freaks and Geeks which Apatow produced. From the Apatow-created Undeclared (which also featured Rogen, Segel, and Starr), there are Jay Baruchel and Loudon Wainwright III. Paul Feig, who co-created Freaks and Geeks, starred in the Apatow-written movie Heavyweights and directed the Apatow-produced Bridesmaids, also makes a brief cameo as the Fantasy Baseball Guy. Steve Carell, who makes a cameo appearance as himself, played the main role in Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin which also starred Rogen and Paul Rudd, as well as appearing in the Apatow-produced Anchorman. Finally, Leslie Mann, who also appeared in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Freaks and Geeks, is married to Apatow, and their two daughters play her children in the movie.
Anne Hathaway was originally cast in the role of Alison in the film, but dropped out due to creative reasons that Apatow attributed to Hathaway's disagreement with plans to use real footage of a woman giving birth. Rogen later corroborated: "(Anne Hathaway) didn’t want the crowning of the baby to be visually representative. Even though it wasn’t going to be hers… It’s obviously not real. But she didn’t even want…she felt that it was not her brand."Anne Hathaway Quit ‘Knocked Up’ Over Graphic Birthing Scene, Says Seth Rogen: ‘She Felt That It Was Not Her Brand’ Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kate Bosworth and Olivia Wilde auditioned for the part after Hathaway dropped out, but ended up losing out to Katherine Heigl. Christina Aguilera was a contender for the main role but decided to turn it down because she was promoting her album Back to Basics at the time.
The closing credits roll over cast members' baby photos. The image of Joanna Kerns as a young mother was previously famous from its use in the opening credits of Growing Pains''' first few seasons.
Bennett Miller, the director of Capote, appears in a mockumentary DVD feature called "Directing the Director" in which he is allegedly hired by the studio to supervise Apatow's work. However, he only interferes with it, eventually leading the two into a fist fight.
Reception Box office performance The film opened at No. 2 at the U.S. box office, grossing $30,690,990 in its opening weekend, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's Ends second weekend. The film grossed $148,768,917 domestically and $70,307,601 in foreign territories, totaling $219,076,518. The film also spent eight weeks in the box office top ten, the longest streak amongst May–June openers in 2007. A company that specializes in tracking responses to advertising spanning multiple types of media attributed the film's unexpected financial success to the use of radio and television ads in combination.
Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, Knocked Up has an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Knocked Up is a hilarious, poignant and refreshing look at the rigors of courtship and child-rearing, with a sometimes raunchy, yet savvy script that is ably acted and directed." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 85 out of 100, based on reviews from 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
The Los Angeles Times praised the film's humor despite its plot inconsistencies, noting that, "probably because the central story doesn't quite gel, it's the loony, incidental throwaway moments that really make an impression." Chris Kaltenbach of The Baltimore Sun acknowledged the comic value of the film in spite of its shortcomings, saying, "Yes, the storyline meanders and too many scenes drone on; Knocked Up is in serious need of a good editor. But the laughs are plentiful, and it's the rare movie these days where one doesn't feel guilty about finding the whole thing funny."Variety magazine, while calling the film predictable, said that Knocked Up was "explosively funny." On the television show Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper and guest critic David Edelstein gave Knocked Up a "two big thumbs up" rating, with Roeper calling it "likable and real," noting that although "at times things drag a little bit.... still Knocked Up earns its sentimental moments." May 27, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
A more critical review in Time magazine noted that, although a typical Hollywood-style comedic farce, the unexpected short-term success of the film may be more attributable to a sociological phenomenon rather than the quality or uniqueness of the film per se, positing that the movie's shock value, sexual humor, and historically taboo themes may have created a brief nationwide discussion in which movie-goers would see the film "so they can join the debate if only to say it wasn't that good."
Accusations of sexism
Mike White (longtime associate of Judd Apatow and screenwriter for School of Rock, Freaks and Geeks, Orange County, and Nacho Libre) is said to have been "disenchanted" by Apatow's later films, "objecting to the treatment of women and gay men in Apatow's recent movies", saying of Knocked Up, "At some point, it starts feeling like a comedy of the bullies, rather than the bullied."New York. "Mike White Calls Out Judd Apatow" . May 7, 2007.