Saturday, June 02, 2007
Clocked Up
IMDB lists the running time of Knocked Up at 129 minutes. I think that's a typo. I'm not gonna exaggerate and say that it was of Berlin Alexanderplatz proportions... but it was certainly in Lawrence of Arabia territory, wasn't it? 229... that's my guess. I felt like I was gonna start showing by the end of the movie.
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Do you have anything productive to add to this criticism, perhaps about the pacing (which is of course actually the key to a movie, not the lenghth) I'm so sick of these GOSH DRRR LONG MOVIE whines from everybody these days.
i have some theories but the movie was so freaking long that i was too tired to explain them.
more later
there wouldn't be GOSH DRRR LONG MOVIE whines coming from everyone if people realized that comedies, traditionally, are supposed to be light on their feet. giggles and belly laughs are by their very nature fleeting fizzy ephemeral things. that's why comedy needs to be tight.
to quote the movie in question itself [squinches face up]:
"tighten"
oh man! from what you've said so far looks like it wasn't that good. pity, i had good hopes for that; not high ones, i just like katerine heigl.
Most people seem to think it is too long (a comedy being over 2 hours is nigh on ridiculous) but still hilarious.
I can't remember who it was, but it was someone famous who said that comedies should never be over 100 minutes. While some can get away with it, I think that's actually a pretty good general rule.
Although to be fair, tight and short aren't necessarily the same thing.
;)
But seriously, I'm still optimistic. The critical response has been very enthusiastic, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which I loved (just missed my Top 10, and I was beside myself that I couldn't find room for Carrel or Keener in the acting categories), was just a hair under two hours.
it does have big laughs. i'm not going to argue that. but not as good as virgin
The advert posters originally cried out "lame" and "annoying" months ago when they first started plaguing L.A. (along with "Starter Wife" ... which was complete, unbelievable drivel). It wasn't until I found out it was the director of "Virgin" and the positive reviews started coming in that I thought I'd give it a shot. Now, you tell me it's nearly FOUR hours long!
Wow. The thing I loved most about the "Naked Gun" movies were their running time. They never asked more of you than a comedy should. I am curous about what they did with this exceptional long running time.
I'm still holding out hope. I enjoyed 'Virgin', but not terribly. This, however, looks hysterical... plus, I love Rogen/Mann/Rudd to no end. And Apatow created 'Freaks and Geeks'.
That's enough for him to keep mining off of me until pretty much THE END OF ALL THINGS ENTERTAINMENT-WISE.
Way to exaggerate the running time. It got 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, did it not? Knocked Up looks freaking awesome.
i'm kidding. it's running time is actually as stated on IMDB. i'm just saying. it FELT like arabia length.
and i'm an Apatow fan so i'll just have to deal with the hate my review gets (once i post) secure in the knowledge that i loved Freaks and Geeks and Virgin and so people will just have to deal with the difference of opinion.
"Knocked Up" was hilarious. It could have been even longer and I would have been happy. Katherine Heigl's a star, and she's already awesome on "Grey's Anatomy". This will all hopefully lead to more great things for Seth Rogen, b/c he deserves it. And I can't get enough of Paul Rudd. Great film and ensemble.
I have a hard time with the comment about Starter Wife...is it an Oscar (Emmy) contender?..No...but is it entertaining and relatable by some and pretty well performed by the actors?..absolutely. I, personally, am not a Messing fan but what happened to tv mini series (and shows for that matter) being entertaining without the need for deep emotional performances and high tension characters? There is such a genre as "romance" for that matter there's a genre for "dramedy" now...
As for Knocked Up...I'm also not a big Heigl fan (I find her character on Grey's one of the most annoying..I can't tell if she's written or performed that way.) The concept is good in this world of one-night-stands...but I can't believe they made it last more than 3 hours without dragging that horse and beating it the whole way over the finish line.
Just got back from "Knocked Up"...it is a tad long, but I still found it overall very funny - and better than 90% of the other comedies out there. Plus, it was sweet, and not overly sappy...kinda like "Virgin."
My big comment with the length is that it wasn't so much the pacing, but that the film focused a lot on the two supporting characters -- some of which seemed unnecessary, especially towards the end.
Overall, I still prefer "Virgin", but I think that's more due to the overall awesomeness of Steve Carrell and Catherine Keener, and not because of specific fault of Apatow's latest.
What's interesting about the length of the film is that if they had shortened, some of the funniest/cleverst scenes might well have been cut because they were extraneous to the plot - such as the hilarious response from the nightclub doorman and the bit with the hotel room chairs. I thought it was all right - I laughed, but I wouldn't tell my friends they have to see it. The supporting cast makes the film, as much as Heigl is charismatic.
"I can't believe they made it last more than 3 hours without dragging that horse and beating it the whole way over the finish line."
It was 129 minutes. Nowhere near three hours.
I didn't see it...and I missread the sarcasm in the post. I apologize for the miscomment.
Let this be a lesson to every blogger out there: Never ever use sarcasm. A lot of people don't pick up on it in writing form and it leads to silly arguments.
Just saw Knocked Up earlier tonight.
Doesn't have the heart that Virgin does. But still, it's so honest and mature, the performances so well-calibrated and funny, touching, infuriating when they have to be.
I'm in the B+/A- range. Still undecided. It wasn't until the very end that I thoght, "when will this be over?" So, perfect pacing for me. It just felt so human. Loved the hysterical work by the supporting ensemble, and the leads I thought were great, too.
It just kept selling me on every point. I can relate as a twenty-something recent post-grad. Heigl is scorching hot, and talented! She can clearly transfer her charisma to the big screen... I wish her all the best.
Definitely a strong contender for a screenplay nod, in my book (truly, I can't remember a juvenile comedy that was so honestly adult in both depiction and emotion, even if once in a while the execution was a bit off).
I have to be honest, I loved it. For reasons I won't get into now, mostly because after leaving the movie I immediately met some friends at a bar. So my preceding thoughts (which have already dragged on too long) and anything that might follow would undoubtedly sound ridiculous.
So, good night.
I don't want to add to the over-hyping, but I'd just like to kick-off the campaign right here and right now: Leslie Mann for Best Supporting Actress in 2008! I am 93% serious.
I disagree with Nathaniel on the length being a fatal flaw of the film. I wasn't ever bored and I laughed HARD throughout the entire length. However, the length IS what's keeping me from praising "Knocked Up" as genuinely great. I'd rate it * * * 1/2 out of * * * *. I've seen it a few times now (thanks to Universal's extensive screening campaign), and each time I hope I won't mind the length anymore and full-on LOVE the film, but it keeps falling short. It just IS too long.
Still, easily one of the best movies so far this year, and one of the two best comedies (after "Hot Fuzz"). I think people will generally love it.
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