Knocked Up Credit: Universal Pictures

Writer-director Judd Apatow wrote his ticket in Hollywood a couple of years ago with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, another movie that boldly blared what it was about in its plain-spoken title. That Steve Carell movie had its funny moments, but a lot of filler, too. But Knocked Up has no extraneous stuff, no slow spots. Although Knocked Up runs a little over two hours - long for a comedy - it sustains the laughs from beginning to end, never slowing down to let the audience catch its breath.

AUDIENCE WARNING! AUDIENCE WARNING!

True to its title, Knocked Up is not for the faint of heart. No question why it's rated R. There's lots of drug use, nudity, raunchy talk, a liberal use of the F word (although here it doesn't seem as naughty, used to punctuate laugh lines), a surprisingly frank birthing scene that includes a clinical peek at the actual arrival. Oh, and sex. That holds surprises, too, in that Katherine Heigl, star of TV's "Grey's Anatomy" and currently filming 27 Dresses in Rhode Island, may be the only actress to play sex scenes without removing her bra. (Her lower half is either covered by a blanket or out of camera range, as well.)

Knocked Up Credit: Universal Pictures

Move over, Cameron Diaz. Watch out Drew Barrymore. Heigl plays Alison Scott, a woman who gets pregnant following a one-night stand with a man she doesn't know, with such charismatic charm that the screen glows whenever she appears. Not only is she beautiful, she has a terrific sense of comic timing.