So the previews sum up the plot pretty well. Local loser winds up nailing local (successful) hottie, manages to impregnate her, and embarks on a nine-month-long journey of discovery (or lack thereof). Ben Stone (Rogen) has spent the last 10 years of his life living off some court settlement involving a mail truck (or something like that) and his toe. With that fifteen grand he’s managed to remain a thoroughly baked, unemployed, illegal immigrant with aspirations of starting a website devoting to helping horny teens locate nude scenes in popular Hollywood flicks. Alison Scott (Heigl), on the other hand, is just starting her career on the entertainment network E!, interviewing celebrities. She lives with her sister (Mann) and brother-in-law (Rudd), helping to raise their children while keeping company with the couple. How did a girl like Alison end up picking up a guy like Ben? It wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a night of celebration ending in drunken sex. Which leads to the first lesson in this movie: Be very clear about what you mean when you tell a man to “get on with it” while he’s having trouble deploying a rubber.

But Knocked Up is about more than just opposites attracting. It’s about lots of pot smoking and stoned antics. It’s about the spread of pinkeye through a house of guys who simply must use bare-assed farts as a weapon. It’s about a married couple and the difficulties of remaining an individual in such a deep commitment. It’s about having sex with a pregnant woman and imagining the fetus getting assaulted in utero. It’s about the Cirque du Psilocybin and why that’s not as relaxing to a troubled mind as one might think. It’s about realizing that you’re not a hot piece of ass anymore as a Zen bouncer explains to you the rules of the game. And lastly, it’s about asking to talk to someone outside when you either need to prostrate yourself or verbally assault him/her without disturbing the woman in labor.

Is it funny? Hell Yes. It’s littered with those moments where your body is jerking with laughter. The characters are great, whether it’s the bearded man trying to endure endless abuse to win a bet or the alpha of the stoners hitting on the married woman with two kids. Some of the best players of 40-Year-Old Virgin return; Carrell even makes a cameo and is made to look like an asshole by a very moody, bulging woman.

Despite the fact that the band of guys are even more immature in this flick than they were in 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up is actually more mature than its predecessor. The relationship in this movie is a bit more believable and speaks more to the new generation of lovers. Why? Let’s just say that I’m one hell of a dork/nerd, but I managed to get laid well before 40. Relationships don’t begin with commitment anymore, they begin with sex. From there a commitment might develop, but sometimes you’re not really given a choice. And that’s when you need to ask yourself if you’re ready to sit down, read a few books, get a job, and move out of the destitute frat house, or would you prefer to sleep until noon on a pillow that somebody probably farted on (bare-assed) so you can wake and bake yet again.

Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen are clearly on their way up. I expect more good things from them in the future.

—Duncan Wright