Summer of Seth

May 9th, 2007 in Comedy, Movies, Trailers

Forget Spider-Man! This summer is all about another nerdy guy with amazing superpowers: mild-mannered Seth Rogen, who has (in my opinion) a far superior power, the ability to get Katherine Heigl to have sex with him.

Okay, so it was only his character in Knocked Up who did the deed, but still, that’s still a heck of a superpower. Even better, I’m starting to think that Seth Rogen is going to rule this summer. But… what about Harry Potter? What about Shrek? What about the Pirates of the Friggin’ Caribbean? Well, cast your mind back a few summers, to 2005 and the release of Knocked Up’s spiritual predecessor, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Yes, Star Wars III and War of the Worlds made more money, but out of the three, which one would you rather revisit? Big budget spectacle is great for theatrical releases, but their thrills diminish quickly. Once you’ve seen 100 Neos fight 100 Mr. Smiths, you don’t need to see it again (or, indeed, ever).

But laughs rarely get old. Indeed, good ones get better with age, because you laugh at the joke and laugh at the memory of laughing at the joke before. Steve Carell getting his chest waxed just gets better. And that, friends, is why I’m fairly blasé about Spidey 3, but I’m really pumped about seeing Knocked Up, director Judd Apatow’s follow-up to the Virgin. (I’m also pretty upset that my girlfriend picked up passes to a sneak preview on Thursday, but I can’t go because of a work function.) The Knocked Up trailer has been all over the web since February, and all signs point to it being a worthy successor: It’s got the same loosey-goosey, underplotted, improvisation-heavy feel, and it deals with another arrested-development, overgrown manchild. A different breed, sure, but we’re still firmly in “Virgin” territory.

(There’s a whole ‘nother article in the differences between the American and European versions of that trailer. I’ve long held a grudge against the “cram the whole movie into the trailer” method, and I think that the more restrained European version is just as intriguing without giving away too many plot points and jokes. But I digress.)

Plus, it has Katherine Heigl, who is the kind of hot that reminds men what unfettered pubescent lust felt like.

All of this is great news, but it gets better. As if starring in what is likely to be the best comedy of the summer weren’t enough, Rogen also wrote Superbad, an autobiographical reminiscence about trying to score beer for cute girls in high school. The trailer just debuted in PG- and R-rated versions, and it looks like Knocked Up could have some serious competition (although it does lose points for lack of Heigl – did I mention I think she’s hot?).

It hardly seems fair to worry about which one will be better (my personal prediction is Knocked Up, but then my expectations are fairly high, and that can wreck even a good flick…). Instead, we should just bask in the glow of a good laugh. And maybe ponder whether Rogen can pull off a hat trick with his next project, Drillbit Taylor.

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