Friday, January 7, 2011 at 2:07PM Apatow Taps Rudd and Mann for 'Knocked Up,' Part Two
I’m not the biggest fan of comedy sequels as a general rule, but there’s been some notable exceptions. Get Him to the Greek, Nicholas Stoller’s follow-up to 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, comes to mind. Movies that are technically sequels, but focus on a smaller character from the first film, tend to have a better chance of not re-tracing explored territory.
Mann and Rudd: Best Worst Couple.
Of course, Get Him to the Greek and Sarah Marshall are both products of the Judd Apatow team of filmmakers, which leads me to some interesting developments around Apatow’s next project, a Greek style spin-off sequel to Knocked Up, focusing on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann’s characters, unhappily married couple Pete and Debbie.
The actors have just signed up to star in Apatow’s as-yet-untitled film, reprising their old roles, and there’s no word yet on whether Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl will be making appearances, as well. I’m hoping it’s a no from Heigl, who famously called the first film “sexist,” then retracted her statements after a media firestorm. Rogen, on the other hand, would be nice to see, even if he just pops in for a moment; his scenes with Rudd in the first film are by far the most entertaining. Don’t believe me? Go back and watch their trip to Cirque Du Soleil and try not to crack a smile.
Rudd and Mann also had some excellent interplay in the first film, so it should be nice to explore a little further into their screwy relationship. And Rudd’s character in this film has a lot more going for him than his poorly-formed straight man in last year’s Dinner For Schmucks. Rudd can star in a comedy; he doesn’t always have to be a tertiary character, great at that as he is, but he tends to work best when paired with someone who’s just slightly more ridiculous than he is (see Role Models or I Love You, Man.)
As such, having only Mann to back him up could pose a bit of trouble in the bromance department. As much as we might like to imagine Rudd as a leading man, he’s a man’s man at the end of the day. Apatow really ought to place a call in to Rogen for this one, or take a page from Greek’s casting, and throw and entirely new actor into the mix, one that can play off Rudd’s abilities without detracting from Pete’s character development.
Apatow is slated to start shooting the film this summer, with a scheduled release for June 1st, 2012.
Reader Comments (3)
Heigl never retracted her statement but also way too much was made of it - just because it is the thing to crap on Heigl in the press at the moment. She helped make the movie if you ask me. Rudd was also great - Mann however was annoying with her squeaky voice. Rogen just plays himself most of the time it seems to me.
I read an article from Heigl in EW a few months ago where she essentially took back her statement. Apologizing for it, and such. I didn't mean it as she made an official retraction, just that she had to back pedal out what she said when the press ran off with it. She got a bad rap off that pretty unfairly, if you ask me.
I’m not the biggest fan of comedy sequels as a general rule, but there’s been some notable exceptions.-Christian Dior designer shoes