I saw it over the weekend and had qualms saying anything negative about it, though I did, here. (Peter Lawler thinks I shouldn’t have) To have a blockbuster movie embrace life and even marriage as it does is no small thing. Knocked Up rejects the common “baby will ruin my life” convention wisdom. And I can’t overemphasize what a wonderful thing that is. It’s a vulgar comedy so this pro-life, pro-marriage, essentially conservative message is reaching people a piece in First Things never would. This is what conservatives in Hollywood should be doing, making funny movies that no one would ever ghettoize as conservative – really engage the culture.
That said, I walked away from the movie worried about the loser housemate guys who feature prominently in the movie. There’s something way too normal about their loserdom. These guys aren’t Sonny Koufax. If mainstream 20something male loserdom is Ben and friends in Knocked Up, that’s something for we’ve got to think about too. I found myself walking away worried: Is this what a War Against Boys has wrought? It’s just a movie, but after a string of similar big-screen winning losers, I had to walk away a little disturbed.