posted 06-02-2007 12:44 PM                       

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Rashell and I went to see this one last night (Saturday night on opening weekend) due mainly to the fact that we are Katherine Heigl fans (through "Grey's Anatomy") and also because the trailer is quite funny. We went to see the film expecting some good laughs. We were not disappointed.

The whole idea behind the film is that an unemployed, pot-smoking dork (Seth Rogan) has a one-night stand with a successful floor producer for E! (Katherine Heigl) and gets her pregnant. The premise is ripe for comedic situations from the awkward pickup in the bar (in which Heigl's character Alison is accompanied by her mildly neurotic sister, played by the wry and shrieky Leslie Mann) to the crazy "Asian Gregory House" OBGYN at the hospital in an admittedly shocking delivery scene. In perhaps the funniest scene in a very long time, Seth Rogan and the ever-funny Paul Rudd take a road trip to Vegas, consume psychedelic mushrooms and watch Cirque du Soleil. Afterward, they contemplate the large issues of life, such as marriage, fatherhood, and why their hotel suite has five different types of chairs.

The movie may run a little long (2 hours is a bit lengthy for a romantic comedy) but it doesn't feel long. Most of the principals have worked together before on the 40-Year-Old Virgin and other alum of that film make cameo appearances. Steve Carrel has an "as himself" appearance as he is awkwardly interviewed on the "red carpet" by a hormonal Alison and fellow "The Office" cast members Craig Robinson and B.J. Novak make brief appearances as a nightclub bouncer (his aside to Leslie Mann is side-splitting) and an OBGYN respectively.

We had a good crowd to enjoy this film with. There were just under 200 in attendance and the audience laughed at al the right places. The one notable bit of audience interaction that I want to mention came during a scene between Alison and her mother, shortly after Alison learns she is pregnant. Her mother is trying to convince her to have the pregnancy "taken care of" and she reminds Alison of her older sister, who accidentally got pregnant and had an abortion. "Look at her, now she's married and she has a real baby." At this line, the audience emitted a collective gasp. Even though it is sickening that actual people think this way, it was somewhat comforting that the film writers intended that line to be repulsive, and that our audience reacted that way as well.

All in all, it was a very funny movie, well worth the $0 we paid to see it, and the catharsis was quite satisfying. That said, it is rated R and earns the rating. For that reason, it's a difficult film to recommend without qualification. As my mother would say, "don't copy!"

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