Review: 'Knocked Up' Grows Up Too Fast

'Knocked Up' (R)(out of four)

If only "Knocked Up" didn't end up taking itself so seriously. The summer comedy is from the same writer-director producer as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," Judd Apatow, so you expect the same outrageous satire, yet "Knocked Up" gets so caught up in baby strollers and cribs that it never really satisfies. It's more like a Happy Meal minus the toy.

But it's not all baby pabulum. There are some truly funny moments, especially from a cast that knows how to deliver laughs.

Katherine Heigl ("Grey's Anatomy") is Allison Scott, a television show producer for E! Entertainment Network who has to fetch cookies for uppity talent like Ryan Seacrest after he has a hissy fit on set over a Jessica Simpson interview. Seacrest is really very funny as a caricature of himself.

After Scott gets her dream job to be an on-camera talent for E!, she celebrates with a night on the town. She shares a beer at the bar with Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), an OK guy except for the fact that he is an unemployed stoner who lives with three other slackers. They are pinning the chance on success on the creation of a celebrity nude Web site.

When Allison and Ben have a one-night stand after too many Coronas and the lack of a condom in the heat of the moment, Allison discovers she's pregnant.

The pair tries to make a go of their odd-couple relationship as Allison hides her ballooning tummy from the folks at E! and Ben prepares for unexpected fatherhood.

But Ben's heart lies with his loser housemates and some of the funniest scenes are inside the "Animal House." There's crude humor aplenty with a multitude of fart jokes, frank sex talk, sexual innuendos, and drug use (including a very funny scene where Stone, or should we call him Stoner, wears a gas mask while smoking a bong for full effect) and candid language. It's what keeps "Knocked Up" from being a cut above "Three Men and a Baby."

Plus, Apatow's Hollywood connections keep a stream of funny cameos coming including a great red-carpet scene including "Virgin's" Steve Carell and actress Jessica Alba.

Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd are priceless as Allison's sister and brother-in-law, who don't exactly offer the new couple a perfect picture of married life.

While "Knocked Up" has its share of hard knocks, what's certain is that the film will definitely boost Heigl's appeal from small screen to big screen and Rogen has his future mapped out for any available Hollywood slacker-nice guy role that comes along.