Roze-Rating: 3.5 / 5
Judd Apatow brings back Pete and Debbie from 2007 comedy hit Knocked Up to explore their lives a few years down the line. Their kids are older, busines isnt flowing and the rest of their family are being uncooperative, the recipe for a destructive marriage. As their problems become more evident as well as their increasing age, they realise that there isn’t much time to fix their relationship before their lives become a waste.
I think most people would agree that this film is slightly too long with a 133 minute running time, although it is filled with quite a bit of substance. I think it was a pretty good idea to revisit these characters since they were a memorable part of Knocked Up. Creating new characters from scratch would definitely not have been as appealing. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann ooze this wacky, cheesy, genuine chemistry that not a lot of actors can produce. Their similar sense of humour is a joy to watch, largely driven by improv which Paul Rudd seems to execute with pure hilarity. There really isn’t much wrong with the acting although I think the older child (Maude Apatow) may have been a bit too intense and loud at times, but in reality I guess kids can go apeshit like that. The cameo’s were definitely the main highlights of the film, which is probably not the best thing for a movie, but they did offer a lot of the laughs. Huge props to Melissa McCarthy who has convincingly cemented herself as one of the best comedy actresses.
The storyline is pretty relatable which is why it’s generally an entertaining watch. I think any big fan of Paul Rudd will like this film a lot because his brand of humour is present throughout and its hard not to like this guy. It may not be the most original film but it still does the job in keeping us laughing and entertained. I think the problem with a film like this is that the subject is too serious to make an absolutely hilarious film, because there’s too many breaks of serious scenes before the laughs come in. Either way it’s definitely worth a watch if your a fan of Judd Apatow films and you want something down to earth with some comedy.