Forget Sarah Marshall

Apatow film doesn’t get beyond his usual crudeness | Megan Basham

Two years ago, a relatively unknown writer/director/producer arrived on the filmmaking scene and resuscitated a dying genre—the R-rated comedy.

Most of Judd Apatow's films (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad, and Knocked Up) contain crude, sexual humor; extended nudity; and some of the most obscene dialogue ever put on paper. They are all populated by boy-men who immerse themselves in alcohol, television, and the comic-book culture. And they all performed incredibly well at the box office.

Given the state of arrested development that many 20- and 30-something men seem to be in today, it shouldn't surprise anyone that they relate to Apatow's work. What is surprising is that the moral themes in his biggest blockbusters seem to resonate with them as well. While most of The 40-Year-Old Virgin is spent making fun of Steve Carrell's titular character, in the end he decides sex will be more meaningful if he saves it for marriage. In between the swearing, nudity, and pot-smoking, Knocked Up eloquently argues for the value of life in the womb. This should not be taken as a recommendation for these movies, but that such traditional sentiments are popping up in such unlikely vehicles is worth noting.