Knocked Up DVD bursts with funny special features

Coming off the commercial success of The 40 Year Old Virgin, writer/director Judd Apatow and crew returned in 2007 with the hilarious smash hit Knocked Up.

On September 25, fans were treated to two versions of the film: the single-disc version with limited special features and the two-disc,

"Extended and Unrated" version, which includes over three hours of deleted scenes, commentary, short documentaries, extended scenes and other very funny segments.

Apatow is quickly becoming notorious for releasing DVD's with equally humorous-and lengthy-bonus material as the feature film itself.

The premise of Knocked Up is simplistic enough - pot-head Ben (Seth Rogen) has an unlikely one night stand with insanely attractive, career-minded Allison (Katherine Heigl), which results in an unplanned pregnancy. The rest of the film documents the awkward relationship between Ben and Allison, the desperate maturing process Ben must endure in spite of his slacker roommates, and the comparison between a budding romance and the strained marriage of Allison's sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd).

The talented cast is given free reign to improvise by Apatow.

Similar to The 40 Year Old Virgin DVD, the bonus disc includes a segment called "Line-O-Rama", which takes several scenes from the movie and shows how each actor improvised each line several times. Perhaps the paramount of the special features is a Line-O-Rama scene in which Rudd and Rogen use obscure Back to the Future references to jokingly seduce one another. (e.g. "I'm gonna throw you in my DeLorean and gun it to 88!" and "I'm gonna go back in time and take you to the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance!")

In a video diary with Apatow, which is included on the bonus disc, the director states that while shooting Knocked Up, over a million feet of film was used because of the mass quantity of improvisation used to get the funniest lines.

Fortunately for those who purchase the DVD, the absolute gold that was left on the cutting room floor finds its way onto the bonus disc.

Even the deleted scenes are hysterical. One in particular includes Heigl and one of Rogen's slacker roommates, Jonah (Jonah Hill) talking about Brokeback Mountain and his potentially repressed homosexuality. Hill riffs on the movie's inability to show a gay sex scene even though it prides itself as being pro-homosexual.

Hill and the rest of Rogen's roommates (Jason Segel, Martin Starr, and Jay Baruchel), a myriad of talent used in previous Apatow projects, also improvise many deleted scenes with Rogen. Perhaps the funniest example includes Segel trying to cheer up a depressed Rogen and then asking permission to date his unborn daughter when she turns 18.

Segel's charm and comedic poise might go unnoticed in the feature film, but he really shines in most of the extended material.

Yet another strong feature on the DVD is "Beard-O-Rama", in which nearly every member of the cast makes cracks about Starr's beard. The gag includes one-liners that didn't appear in the film, such as Rudd's quip, "How's your quest going? For fire?"and Heigl's innocent remark, "Still on moonshine?"

Apatow also included several casting vignettes such as a tongue-in-cheek search for the main character in "Finding Ben Stone."

Here, comedians such as Micheal Cera, Bill Hader, Justin Long and even Apatow himself attempt to win the lead role, but inevitably fail in a grandiose manner.

Dr. Kuni, the spiteful medical professional in charge of delivering Heigl's baby, is given two special segments to himself. One documents the improvisation used in the birth scene and the subsequent ruined takes by on-set laughter. In Kuni's overly-graphic rant, Rogen is seen doing everything possible to hold in the laughter.

Perhaps the only weak portion of the DVD is the commentary- although this is not due to poor content but because not enough of the stellar cast is utilized. Only Apatow, Rogen and roving SNL star Bill Hader contribute to the commentary, which is more of an outlet for Hader's spot-on impressions than an insightful look at the production.

The rest of the DVD, however, provides more than enough insight to make up for it.

If your sides do not hurt after watching the film and the accompanying special features, you should probably check your pulse.

Apatow and company, by paying attention to detail and purposely creating loads of DVD material, have managed to create a comedy masterpiece. Rudd, Segel, Hill and Mann deliver magnificent supporting performances, while Rogen and Heigl, once relegated to back-up duties, knock this one out of the park as leads.

There is a reason why Apatow is one of the hottest names in comedy right now, and one need not look any further than the Knocked Up DVD to find out why.