I’m gonna have to be a bit unfair to this movie for a few reasons, at least for now. I plan on catching it a second time to help figure out what my real opinion is. First, the midnight, sold-out screening I went to had a moderately good audience overall (who were really loving the film), but a couple really annoying couples that were, of course, sitting right next to me and right behind me. Second, the audio level was seriously weak (my guess: the analog audio track was being used with the digital track having glitched out completely). I know I missed a good third of the dialog due to it being so weak and the audience laughing so loud and often. Third, there were a number of picture jumps in the film, like bad splices (on opening day, no less). Lastly, I think writer/director Judd Apatow’s films and shows work better on multiple viewings. The movie is a very R rated film, never shying away from the outlandish and extreme. Where other films would stop short, this one has no inhibitions. While that serves the humor many times, it also backfires a bit as well. Sometimes, the crass level of humor seems to be there only for shock value, and that falls flat. Still, it is very often hilarious.

Writing: Character arcs are pretty well written, if not a little bit stereotypical. Still, for a movie that is primarily going for laughs, it’s nice to see them actually writing character and story at all in this day and age (take note, you hacks that made Scary Movie 1 & 2, Date Movie, Epic Movie, White Chicks, Little Man, etc).

Production: There’s nothing to take note of in particular for production quality in the film. Cinematography is as absolutely plain as possible, feeling even less cinematic than Apatow’s previous (and superior) film, The 40 Year Old Virgin. Locations and settings are completely average as well. I guess it helps sell the reality of the characters a bit.

Cast: Here’s the real strength of the film. It’s impossible to go wrong with Katherine Heigl. Seth Rogan also works very well, and has to go through the widest character arc. It’s great to see Leslie Mann getting a main role these days, even if it is her husband that’s the writer/director. But in my estimation the greatest piece of casting is Paul Rudd as the brother-in-law. Rudd is always great (and seems to be a regular player for Apatow), and some of his timing and crazier moments in this movie are hilarious. The main four character really play off each other very well, in all combinations. Then there’s the numerous supporting players, ranging from How I Met Your Mother’s Jason Segel to the great Harold Ramis (in a hilariously cast role as Rogen’s father). The one completely wasted actor is Alan Tudyk, who’s one of the funniest actors in the business, that is given some fairly lame material to work with.

Music: Loudon Wainwright III is not a film composer by trade, and his music for this film doesn’t feel like it was actually written to be a film score. It feels a bit tracked in - a “needle dropped” score, to put it in old-school scoring terminology. It’s harmless enough, but feel very underwhelming and a bit lame in spots.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.