Allison Scott is an up-and-coming entertainment journalist whose 24-year-old life is on the fast track. But it gets seriously derailed when a drunken one-nighter with slacker Ben Stone resulted in an unwanted pregnancy. Ben then decides to do the honourable thing by tying the knot with her, and the two must learn to become parents.

In "Knocked Up", Katherine Heigl plays Allison Scott, a young journalist who's on the fast track to success. Having recently promoted to a glamourous stint that requires her to be on the TV screen instead of behind it, Allison's life is nothing but peachy. That is, until a careless one-night-stand threatens to bring her shiny new life and career down in shambles. A baby is the last thing she needs.

Heigl is a busty blonde who sits comfortably in romantic comedies like this one. Having acted in dozens of films playing meaningless roles, she recently got her biggest break as Dr. Izzie Stevens in the hit TV drama "Grey's Anatomy". Although the series swelled in popularity, Heigl is simply a non-progressive actress. There is just no other face to this coin and no matter how many times you flip it, it always falls on the same side. Simply put, she's the same ol' Heigl that she was seven years ago (in "100 Girls"), which reminds me of the very uninspiring Jennifer Aniston who can never break into other genres because she's just not that good of an actress.

The same can be said about Heigl's co-stars who are just as easily forgotten as what you had for breakfast two weeks ago on Monday. Although the film is a romantic comedy, the leading characters themselves weren't very funny. In fact, comic relief came largely from characters who had no influence on the storyline at all. Good examples would be Allison's unnamed colleague whose dry wit and sarcasm in the office brought the giggles out of me, as well as a club bouncer (or 'doorman' as Allison's sister calls him) whose 'ghetto' vocabulary was indeed 'off the hizzie'.

The storyline (written by the same writers who brought you "The 40-Year-Old Virgin") is half-hearted but there are lines that make the writers seem a lot more intelligent than originally thought. In the end, the film wasn't at all bad.

The film can be nightmarish for the modern 21st-century girl like myself whose career is more important than raising a family, so the genre can vary from individuals. Besides, I've never been too fond of watching women go into labour (even if it is just acting) and the abundance of mini-humans (children) in the movie is a reason for me not to go see it again. Honestly, I can't quite point out a target audience that would love this movie. It's not quite for adults and not exactly for the family either. But if you ask me, it's not worth paying RM10 to go find out.

The movie is about what happens to couples who make out without taking the necessary precautions. The story revolves around a couple, Ben (Seth Rogen) and Alison (Katherine Heigl), who meet at the disco, get drunk and spent the night together. Eight weeks later, the over-achiever career woman that is Alison discovers she is pregnant - thanks to the near-broke Ben who doesn't even have much of a day job. Her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) takes her through the pregnancy test kit to finally ascertain that her life is taking a definite turn from her planned route.

Debbie and her husband Pete (Rudd) play the perfect role of showing Alison and Ben what the future would look like while trying to be a pillar of strength and guidance for the young parents-to-be. All four main characters support and bring out each other's role perfectly. This is especially in the scene when Debbie drags Alison and Ben with her to spy on Pete whom she thought is having an affair. Then there are scenes of female and male bonding where each gender faces up to the truths they are most plagued by.

The movie deals with real life issues with a pinch of humour, scoops of vulgar language and truckloads of realistic decision-making. It is one of the most watchable comedies this year. The director has not allowed any over-the-top situations to deflect us from the actors or the issues the movie deals with, like unexpected pregnancy, illicit affairs and one-night stands. You feel an overwhelming respect for his foresight at handling such delicate issues and dusting it with enough gut-wrenching humour.

The characters are playfully nudged from childhood to maturity - notably in the scene where Ben tries to get his team mates to set a deadline for website completion (his so-called day job) and as Alison makes a conscious effort to hang out with his friends and attends yoga classes. What I love about the process is that they both retain their original traits, like Ben's vulgarity - which he uses on Alison's gynaecologist when he couldn't be reached as Alison is about to go into labour.

Look out also for the 'crowning' glory in the birth process. Those scenes will definitely give National Geographic a run for the money.