'Knocked' out of the park

his will be forever known as the year of Judd Apatow.\nApatow and his crew are responsible for 2007's two best comedies and summer smashes: "Knocked Up" and "Superbad." The first of the two to be released, "Knocked Up" is memorable not only for its side-splitting hilarity but also for its heart. The movie is centered around two characters, lazy stoner Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and successful and gorgeous Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), who meet at a club one night. They hook up in a drunken one-night stand, only to find out eight weeks later that Alison is pregnant. The result is a movie that is the year's best comedy thus far. \nApatow's brand of comedy is an equal blend of pop-culture references and obligatory raunchy humor. The blend makes the movie feel real; the dialogue mimics banter you and your roommates have on a daily basis. Ben and his roommates' discussion of what made "Munich" so awesome or Ben and Pete's De Niro impressions are clever and spot-on. \nThe movie serves as a launching point for Rogen, who not only starred in Apatow's feature film directorial debut "40 Year Old Virgin," but also co-wrote "Superbad." Rogen is perfect as the lovable loser, and "Grey's Anatomy" star Heigl is also perfect as the successful young blonde. Even with the great lead roles, the movie is loaded with a bevy of great supporting roles. Whether it's Ben's hilariously pathetic roommates or Alison's sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd) or the slew of gynecologists, every new character introduced in "Knocked Up" serves more laughs. \nThe extras are nothing short of spectacular, serving up more than three hours of bonus features and the Apatow-brand of hilarity. "Being Ben Stone" is a fake documentary about all the other actors who were "in line" to play the lead. Michael Cera didn't get the part because he was "too young and birdlike," and Orlando Bloom wasn't quite "American" enough. "Directing the director" is entertaining and features "Capote" director Bennett Miller hounding Apatow to make "Knocked Up" more artsy. And in case you didn't get enough beard quips from the feature film, "The Beard-O-Rama" is filled with snappy one-liners from the cast ripping on Martin's face shag.\nWith the brilliant movie and the uniquely engaging special features, "Knocked Up" is a must-have for your DVD collection.