Rantings on "Knocked Up"

As much as I hate to admit it, one of my biggest guilty pleasures is crass, low brow comedies a la American Pie, 40 Year Old Virgin etc. I'd love to say my sense of humor was above finding them funny, but I can't, so I was really excited to see "Knocked Up" which was advertising itself as the next classic in this genre.

I was sorely dissapointed and left the movie the most pissed off I've been since seeing Lord of War. (For those of you who've I've discussed that movie with - you understand what a big deal that is!) But unlike some viewers who were dissapointed/upset just because the movie was in fact, not that funny, I'm going to wax philosophical and give the reasons I think it was actually a "BAD" movie.

First of all, lets get this out of the way - this movie was explicitely targeted at men - which in itself, doesn't make it a bad movie, but it needs to be pointed out for future reference. Movie makers would never have dreamed of producing a story about a successful, intelligent, good looking guy knocking up a ugly, fat, stupid, substance abusing, out of work woman and try to write their blossoming relationship off as a comedy. Why? Because there's nothing funny about two people, so revoltingly uncompatible, bringing a child into this world and trying to make a doomed relationship work "for the kid."

Besides the above mentioned reason, there is the fact that mainstream American movie goers (many of them college or high school age for these kind of movies) are conditioned by TV etc. to not see humor or logic in attractive, intelligent men being with fat, stupid women. How many shows are out there right now where most of the punchlines come from the fact that the beautiful, intelligent wife has to forbear the retarded antics of her stupid, lazy, unattractive husband? (King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, Still Standing, Yes,Dear...the list goes on) On the other hand, can you think of one sitcom that has a viewership because of a reverse situation?

However - like I said, this movie was targeted for men. And if a thinking viewer doesn't think for one second that there wasn't thousands of 20 something, pot smoking, condom scoffing, unintelligent loser guys out there watching this movie and raising their Keystone Light in honor of Ben somehow landing Allison, (even if it might mean a kid) you'd be sorely mistaken. And that idea makes me sick.

The main problem I have with this movie is that even if it shows the problems the couple has, it implies that what they're trying to accomplish together is a good thing - and its not. The last thing women need is to be told that they should pursue a relationship with a wholly incompatible partner simply because a night of drunken sex produces a child. I'm all for women and men owning up to the responsibility of a pregnancy and not getting an abortion, but the social stipulation that tells men and women they should be together simply because they have a child together is horribly false - and movies like this try to say the opposite. Good for Allison for making Ben aware that he was going to be a father...but when she took it a step farther and actually tried to force herself to have feelings for someone like him just because she wanted to follow the status quo of every kid having a mommy and a daddy - come on. Some parents just shouldn't be together - and I think if this movie was actually a real life story, that would definitely be the case.

Some people might argue that, "But Ben becomes such a good guy in the end - see! A kid made him better." Well lets hope to God young guys and girls out there don't count on kids being a ticket to maturity because that whole notion is retarded. Good for Ben that he stopped doing drugs (at least temporarily and not in front of his daughter) but what would really be a sad story is taking Knocked Up ten years down the road and seeing how f-ed up Ben, Allison, and their daughter's relationship is.

Anyways. I've gone on long enough. Long story short - not every couple should be or stay together simply for the child's sake, and this movie paints a happy ending for what in real life would spell disaster. Bringing a child into this world doesn't equal or produce maturity (in most cases) - even kids in jr. high can have a kid together. Intelligent, successful women should not lower their standards simply because of the social dogma that preaches mommies need to be with daddies, and instead of proving that point, I fear that most young viewers will walk away from this movie with the opposite nothion.