Thursday, October 18, 2007

"Knocked Up" is Finally a Good Redemption Movie

... but man, it takes its time getting there.

Ben is one of the most hopeless boneheaded slackers I have run across in movies (and never, thank the Lord, in real life). Why lovely, competent Alison gives him a second look, much less a tumble, is hard to fathom. I guess this is the disbelief we are meant to suspend. Fair enough.

So Ben and Alison find themselves pregnant. They both try to do the right thing, very clumsily. It does take him an amazingly long time to get to Step One - move out of the Dim Slackers Pothouse and get a real job. Still, he gets there. And it is plausible, I suppose, that she does not tell him what to do, because she does not want to be as controlling a wife as her sister is.

Nonetheless, adulthood is not so scary that it really needs to be resisted so forcefully.

I will not go further in the plot to avoid spoilers. It will not surprise anyone who has seen the trailer that the film's tone is sweet, pro-baby, and ultimately pro-marriage.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite movies of the year because it does remind me so much of people I know. No, they're not potheads with terrible Life Plans (and business ideas), but a lot of them do seem to be stuck in a state of retarded adolescence. Between the excessive video gaming, lack of stable relationships, juvenile understanding of the opposite sex, and OK occasional drug use, the "Knocked Up" guys have hit a lot of nails on their collective heads.

And yes, I am well aware that the above descriptions fit me all too well. The inspiring thing about the film is the realistic manner in which the central character does come to recognize his many flaws and sets about correcting them. Gives me hope that there's a chance for me yet. :)

Anonymous said...

I thought it was great too. Though I wasn't quite expecting the shot of the crowning baby.

Peter Hoh said...

There's another pregnant movie due up in December. It wowed audiences at the Toronto Film Festival. I'm hoping the father-daughter relationship is as good as it looks in the trailer.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/juno/trailer/

Gruntled said...

Yes, "Juno" does look lovely. Thanks, Peter, for the heads up. The trailer reminds me of "Saved," which I thought was pretty intelligent on the subject.