Sometimes a Fantasy

Let's get a few things straight: In the real world — at least the one that I live in — a schlubby guy like Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and his pothead friends would never get into a hot club like the one they're at toward the beginning of Knocked Up. And said hot club would be much, much more crowded, and populated with hotter people like Alison Scott (Katherine Heigel), an E! producer who should probably be at a hotter club than that. And if said hot chick were at this hot club (with her equally hot sister), she would undoubtedly be mobbed with guys, and would never — never — give the time of day to a schlubby but good intentioned guy like our friend Ben. (Jeff Wells is so right-on about that.)

Which makes Knocked Up the year's best sci-fi/fantasy flick. And all kidding aside, this is a very good, very enjoyable movie. Made by the same folks who did The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up tells the story of a schlubby guy who meets a hot chick at a club, and after getting drunk and sleeping together, she ends up pregnant. So he does the unlikely but right thing and decides to stick by her and be a supportive father-to-be. Laughs and romance ensue.

Like Virgin, this movie deftly mixes sweetness and raunch. The two leads are undeniably cute and charming, and they're surrounded by an uproarious supporting cast. There are plenty of quotable lines. There are hysterical cameos by the likes of Ryan Seacrest. And sure, the fact that the two fall in love — and do so quickly, I might add — is pretty unbelievable, I think. In real life, Alison would have run for the hills the second she learned more about this guy, no matter how sweet and funny he is. But this is a movie, and these flights of fantasy didn't interfere with my enjoyment of it at all. Knocked Up is a ringing endorsement for having a baby, and for attractive women to give funny, schlubby guys a chance. If there's any truth to the movie, then maybe there's hope for us all. I'm giving Knocked Up a B+.