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Knocked Up poster

Knocked Up

year 2007decade 00sdirector Judd Apatowgenre Comedy

129 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Knocked Up | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Juliet Litmanhost Craig Horlbeckproducer Craig Horlbeck
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The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Heigl/Lohan lost superstardom; Flesh of the Stars beats Mr.Skin; Alison should choose abortion

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:59Read transcript
  • Heigl and Lohan are proposed as unrealized major stars; Heigl’s broken relationships with the Apatow group and Shonda Rhimes are presented as particularly difficult to recover from.
  • Flesh of the Stars is preferred as a business name to the creepy-sounding Mr.Skin.
  • Abortion is proposed as the sensible decision for the characters given Ben’s unemployment and immaturity, with the joke that the movie would end after 28 minutes.

Roger Ebert's review

Rating not yet verified
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:48Read transcript
  • No Roger Ebert review is found by the hosts, who speculate that health issues explain the gap.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Nightclub hangout; breakfast with the children

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:26Read transcript
  • The running jokes about Martin’s beard and Dirty Man competition are celebrated as endlessly funny male-friend banter, with Lennon, Scorsese, Cat Stevens, Richard Reid and Robin Williams-knuckle comparisons.
  • Wiig’s euphemistic weight-loss meeting is praised as an early display of her screen persona and perhaps her second-best movie work.
  • The nightclub’s beer-buying, teasing and dice-dance routine are a personal favorite; Mann and Heigl also excel and the bouncer setup pays off later.
  • Segel flirting with Mann is admired as an underrated supporting turn; supporting players can stay weird without the lead’s growth arc.
  • The obscene background gestures during Alison’s phone call and the sex-offender website argument are additional comic highlights.
  • The double date’s time-machine exchange showcases Rogen and Rudd’s chemistry and greater affection for each other than their partners.
  • The Vegas mushroom trip and intercut nightclub rejection by Robinson form a favored eight-minute stretch.
  • The fantasy baseball draft reveal feels painfully plausible, with the Matsui announcement especially funny.
  • Alison’s first visit to the messy house and Hill awkwardly watching Wild Things effectively show the gulf between young men’s and women’s maturity.
  • The breakfast conversation with Maude is explicitly chosen, with the meal setting laying out the film’s concerns.
  • Two closing preferences favor the nightclub after the breakfast choice.

Picking Nits

Weight-loss demand; Mr.Skin ignorance; condom misunderstanding; Ben’s behavior; club logistics; implausible finances

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:21Read transcript
  • The demand that Alison lose 20 pounds is questioned because she already looks thin and healthy; the counterargument is that absurdly negative feedback exposes Hollywood standards.
  • Friends obsessed with screen nudity should already know Mr.Skin exists; their ignorance undermines the business premise.
  • The condom misunderstanding and Ben’s selective next-morning memory feel contrived; a broken condom is proposed as simpler, countered by its value in showing incompatibility.
  • Ben’s tactlessness at breakfast and repeated pregnancy-story telling are exaggerated beyond credibility and could be reduced.
  • Alison should leave with her sister, and the disheveled friends seem unlikely to enter the same exclusive club under its strict door policy.
  • Pete’s luxurious home, Ben’s instantly affordable large apartment and a long-lasting $13,000 settlement strain financial credibility; Big Daddy offers a similar premise.
  • Moving directly from behind-camera work to correspondent without an intermediate audition or trial is implausible.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:21Read transcript
  • The two weight-loss scenes make Wiig an early contender for the short-screen-time performance award.
  • Six nominees are Seacrest, Wiig, Hader, Iris Apatow, Stormy Daniels and Robinson; Jeong is explicitly excluded just beforehand.
  • Wiig wins two preferences over one for Seacrest, with praise for elevating both of her scenes.

What’s Aged the Best?

Hill; Apatow children; sister bond; ensemble; gas mask; Brentwood; Rogen; Segel; ping-pong referee; Fox dig; Seacrest

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:29Read transcript
  • Hill’s explosive yelling and late hospital-wheelchair antics rescue stretches of the movie; the Apatow children and affectionate sister relationship are also praised.
  • The failed Mr.Skin imitation is a funny premise, though younger viewers may miss the reference and the friends should already know the original site.
  • The supporting cast’s future prominence stands out: Hader, Robinson, Jeong, Franco, Carell, Scott and Novak; Ramis’s father cameo and Hader’s Dom DeLuise insult also delight.
  • The smoking gas mask now evokes Laremy Tunsil and is credited with inspiring inventive ways to smoke.
  • This Is 40’s later existence is an interesting bookend; Debbie and Pete’s Brentwood house and coastal interiors still look desirable, and Rogen’s sweetness impresses.
  • Segel’s casual nudity, a referee for ping-pong and the Matthew Fox insult are additional picks.
  • The mid-2000 s E! celebrity machine and Seacrest’s unexpected self-mocking rant are praised, including the Jessica Simpson joke.

The Den of Thieves Benihana Award for Scene-Stealing Location

Swingers diner; Geisha House; the friends’ house

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:42Read transcript
  • Swingers diner inspires affection and a discussion of the film’s Swingers reference.
  • Geisha House and its Ashton Kutcher connection are important period locations.
  • The friends’ unusually spacious house and large lot are notable, despite its disgusting pool.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Fantasy-baseball cheating subplot

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:04Read transcript
  • The draft reveal is funny in isolation, but the nine-minute cheating detour distracts from the central pregnancy and offers little payoff; lying about an annual draft seems less credible than seeking solitary movie time.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Phone; UFC poster; length; real-name characters; clothes; prosthetic bump; anti-vax stance; webpage terminology; hostile doctor

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:17Read transcript
  • The Sprint Treo close-up and Liddell/Couture poster date the film;132 minutes is too long, with excess Rudd/Mann material and drawn-out improvised scenes.
  • More montages could clarify relationships and compress repetitive scenes, beyond Ben’s eventual growing-up montage.
  • Using the actors’ real first names now intrudes as those performers became famous; Charlyne Yi and Rogen are inconsistent exceptions.
  • Heigl’s flowing tops and low wide jeans, along with the men’s oversized shirts and backward caps, are unflattering period fashion.
  • The fake pregnancy bump and Debbie’s anti-vaccination position age badly.
  • Repeatedly calling their project a webpage rather than a website sounds implausibly unfamiliar with 2007 internet usage.
  • Jeong’s hostile doctor is belatedly added as making the experience of giving birth look particularly unpleasant.
  • An ideal 100-to 105-minute cut would shorten labor and remove the draft detour; cutting the earthquake is proposed but resisted because Segel’s cigarette-and-nudity gag is too funny.

The Ron Burgundy Flute Award for the Best Time for a Pee Break

Pre-hospital labor sequence

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:21Read transcript
  • The frenetic seven-and-a-half-minute stretch before reaching the hospital is proposed for a bathroom break.
  • Cutting the pre-hospital labor would lose only the funny tirade at the absent doctor; the bathtub and extended hospital material, including Jeong’s return, are also considered excessive.

Casting What-Ifs

Anne Hathaway; reported Hewitt, Bosworth, Aguilera and Kunis auditions

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:37Read transcript
  • Hathaway reportedly withdrew over planned real childbirth footage; the explanation is debated, while her potential performance and a Prada/Knocked Up/Rachel Getting Married run are admired.
  • Hewitt, Bosworth and Aguilera reportedly auditioned; Kunis’s audition is treated as firmer and linked to her later Sarah Marshall casting, with disagreement over whether she was too young here.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Charlyne Yi; Ken Jeong

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:11Read transcript
  • Yi’s stoned improvisations are considered excessive and unfunny, though giving another female character no dialogue would create a different problem; more development was needed.
  • Jeong’s aggressive doctor is also considered overacted and an unpleasant presence.

Third Act Meltdown

The movie’s final labor stretch

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:47Read transcript
  • The Chris Paul meltdown award goes to the movie’s last 30 minutes, compared with the Suns–Dallas series.

Recasting Couch

Sydney, surname unstated, as Alison; Gaten Matarazzo as Ben

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:50Read transcript
  • Sydney in the Heigl role is proposed as a post-Euphoria move, with Matarazzo from Stranger Things accepted as the Rogen replacement.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Roller-coaster fear; DVD firing spoof; Heigl lists; Wild Things footage; draft choice

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:23Read transcript
  • Baruchel’s roller-coaster fear and reactions are reportedly real, with repeated takes making actors ill.
  • A DVD extra reportedly stages Cera being fired and Bennett Miller joining as codirector; two responses say they have not watched it.
  • Heigl’s reported 14 th-place Maxim ranking surprises, followed by jokes about a reported 2014 menagerie: eight dogs, four cats, nine horses, two donkeys, two goats and eight chickens.
  • An apparent topless Neve Campbell shot in the film’s Wild Things excerpt is questioned because the hosts cannot find it in released versions.
  • The fantasy draft’s Hideki Matsui choice is introduced for discussion.
  • Pete’s delayed Delgado request shows confusion, but the hosts consider Matsui a solid sixth- or seventh-round choice.

Apex Mountain

Heigl; Apatow, qualified; Matsui and movie fantasy-sports moments, possible; unplanned-pregnancy movies

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:55Read transcript
  • Heigl is an emphatic yes, compared with Vincent Chase’s Aquaman peak; naming the category after that fictional example is floated for future workshopping.
  • Rogen is rejected because his career continued rising, though carrying this unconventional leading role, producing with Goldberg and releasing Superbad made 2007 remarkable.
  • Apatow is a strong qualified yes for his leverage across Knocked Up and Superbad’s nearby release.
  • Segel, Hill, Rudd and Baruchel are rejected; Mann prompts admiration but This Is 40 is preferred for leading a major movie.
  • Matsui is an arguable yes and fantasy sports in movies may peak here; The League is television, while baseball’s historical primacy is debated against football’s mid-2000 s rise.
  • Unplanned-pregnancy movies receive an affirmative belated nomination, with She’s Having a Baby considered and Juno dismissed as a personal dislike.

Hall of Fame Plaque

Apatow, disputed; Rogen’s Superbad

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:15Read transcript
  • Apatow’s representative credit divides Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and his likely personal choice Freaks and Geeks; Superbad is preferred for Rogen. Heigl is excluded from the hypothetical Hall of Fame.

Best Race Horse Name from This Movie

Flesh of the Stars

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:12Read transcript
  • Opening Credits Bush, Smash Abortion, Drinking Bone and Pregnant with Emotion are considered before Flesh of the Stars receives the final agreement.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Pinkeye urban legend; pregnancy-position claim; Ben’s finances

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:39Read transcript
  • The pillow-fart pinkeye story is questioned without research, including whether the movie popularized an existing college urban legend.
  • A character’s gravity-based pregnancy-prevention claim prompts joking questions about evidence; the hosts provide no substantiation.
  • How Ben pays for food or anything else remains unanswered.
  • The movie may have taught a generation more about childbirth than school, with the crowning image singled out.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Eight-episode comedy series; possible all-Black cast

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:50Read transcript
  • An all-Black version appeals, but an eight-episode series could explore the secondary family; Catastrophe is a comparison. Concerns about losing humor are countered with The Sex Lives of College Girls’ tone, and a possible This Is 50 is mentioned.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Kathryn Hahn as Alison’s friend, sister or doctor

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:49Read transcript
  • Hahn could fill the missing friend role, play Debbie or replace the hostile doctor; she is considered useful in many parts.

Just One Oscar

Screenplay; Jonah Hill supporting actor

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:19Read transcript
  • Screenplay is the most plausible award, with Hill’s scene-by-scene excellence offered as a supporting-actor alternative.

Best Double Feature

Knocked Up poster
Knocked Up
Poster unavailable
This Is 40
Poster unavailable
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Poster unavailable
Adventureland
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:50Read transcript
  • This Is 40 continues the same characters, but its combined four-plus hours and resemblance to the slower material draw objections.
  • Forgetting Sarah Marshall is preferred to give Segel and the ensemble more room.
  • Adventureland is the other explicit choice for Hader, Wiig and Starr, with enthusiasm for Mottola and a wish to participate in that future episode.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Avoid the unemployed stoner with the imitation website

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:45Read transcript
  • Alison is advised to choose a different partner; the abortion take returns, followed by a joke repeating the movie’s unsupported pregnancy-position claim.

How Long Do They Stay Together?

No

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:01Read transcript
  • The couple is expected to separate quickly; a role-reversal sequel with them supporting Pete and Debbie could have explored the outcome.
  • Future scenarios diverge: Ben leaves Los Angeles, or he stays as a working entertainment father while Alison moves to Washington; alternatively she thrives as a television/reality host and finds a better partner.
  • The inability to predict Alison’s future highlights how little the film establishes her ambitions.

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:08Read transcript
  • Apatow receives one opening choice, but two favor Rogen: proving he could lead this hit opened future starring opportunities, amplified by Superbad’s writing success.
  • His off-camera partnership with his off-camera best friend adds to the sense that he was doing more than the visible ensemble.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Judd Apatow
Speaker not identified
Seth Rogen
Speaker not identified
Seth Rogen

More from the conversation

Craig Horlbeck joins as an on-mic participant after roughly three years producing; the show is deliberately adding more movies from the past 15 years.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:05Read transcript
A proposed 1989–2005 rom-com boom runs from When Harry Met Sally through the female-star era, followed by comedy-first romance: Mean Girls, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Wedding Crashers, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Easy A and Bridesmaids. The change is linked to male perspectives and Apatow’s crew after Ephron/Myers.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:51Read transcript
Mean Girls is challenged as a teen movie rather than a rom-com, qualifying the proposed comedy-romance taxonomy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:04Read transcript
Starting Over is recalled as an early prototype; When Harry Met Sally is distinguished from merely pleasant romances by sharp writing, Connick’s music, New York and nuanced archetypes.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:34Read transcript
The move from chick-flick terminology toward date movies accompanies appreciation of male friends trading insults; the first half’s hangouts are funnier than the more heartfelt second half.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:18Read transcript
Young performers’ existing chemistry from Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared and The 40-Year-Old Virgin is compared with basketball continuity; Apatow’s long improvisational takes captured it alongside McKay/Ferrell’s work.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:01Read transcript
Apatow’s producing run is listed: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Talladega Nights, Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, Year One, Funny People, Get Him to the Greek and Bridesmaids; Bridesmaids is treated as the culminating answer to criticism of his women.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:28Read transcript
Alison is criticized as flat, without friends or fun, while the men receive rich adult friendships; her unhappy older sister seems to be her only companion.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:53Read transcript
Missing female friendship is contrasted with the essential best-friend roles of Judy Greer, Heather Burns and Carrie Fisher; the film’s growing interest in Rudd and Mann may crowd Alison out and anticipates This Is 40.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:52Read transcript
Using Apatow’s real wife and children with Rudd invites speculation about an autobiographical marriage, countered by the view that writers combine tiny borrowed details; Funny People’s Bana/Sandler triangle is another provocative example.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:06Read transcript
The children’s performances and Maude’s later Euphoria work impress; Apatow’s development of Girls and Bridesmaids shows an evolution beyond the thin female characterization here.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:43Read transcript
The film is overlong, especially waiting for the birth, but its originality benefits from creative freedom that the hosts think has become rarer.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:53Read transcript
Apatow’s talent spotting and relatable young ensembles inspired a generation to write scripts about their friends, compared with Reitman and Michaels for an earlier generation; outdated homophobic jokes can be removed without losing the comedy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:29Read transcript
Heigl’s beauty, Grey’s Anatomy success and movie-star potential make her later trajectory surprising; the prestige Vanity Fair cover ahead of 27 Dresses is framed as an important leading-lady milestone.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:44Read transcript
The hosts attribute career damage to Heigl’s public criticism of Knocked Up’s sexism and Grey’s Anatomy’s writing, while acknowledging substance in the sexism complaint and recalling Rogen’s hurt reaction and her later clarification.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:37Read transcript
Her emotional Grey’s Anatomy scenes, defense of T.R.Knight and eventual absence from reunions are discussed as a lost opportunity, contrasted with Rogen’s expanding career; these are the hosts’ contemporary assessments.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:37Read transcript
Poor script selection, especially 27 Dresses compared with Picture Perfect, Hitch and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and having her mother as manager are offered as further explanations for Heigl’s decline.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:49Read transcript
Rogen and Apatow’s public response is recalled, including criticism of The Ugly Truth and the lack of a private apology; the relationship is described as severely damaged, with an immediately withdrawn “evil” characterization.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:43Read transcript
A publishing-work anecdote recalls Apatow repeatedly promoting Lena Dunham around 2009–2010, supporting the view that he took criticism of female characters seriously; Trainwreck is another example.
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:57Read transcript
Grey’s Anatomy’s Izzie/Alex ending through letters, voiceover and faceless doubles is criticized, prompting interest in punitive television exits and a Beverly Hills 90210/Shannen Doherty comparison.
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:51Read transcript
The film’s reported $25 million budget and $219 million gross are presented as a major Apatow success.
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:34Read transcript
Emily Nussbaum’s criticism of Alison as inconsistent and without needs or desires is recalled; an unsuccessful attempt to hire Nussbaum for Grantland is mentioned.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:00Read transcript
Rogen’s Architectural Digest office tour and pottery interests inspire a joking ceramics-influencer ambition.
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:47Read transcript
Craig Horlbeck receives a full producer credit and host-producer acknowledgment; the close promotes the participants’ other Ringer shows.
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:30Read transcript