A post in which I will not use "bromance." Wait. Damn it!

I LOVE YOU, MAN. As I have not seen the movie, there's not much I have to say about it yet, which I think will make for a nice change of pace in my response here. First, I was a bit taken aback by the first line of your post. I mean, I know starting this blog is a great but I really don't want to give you the wrong impression. Well, then I realized that was the title of the movie. Anyway, for anyone else reading this blog, I can personally attest to Owen falling out of the chair during Knocked Up. I believe it was the scene regarding the pube shaving that sent my fellow movie fan to the strangely tidy floor of the Pioneer Place theater.

I tend to agree with you on the Judd Apatow stable -- for the most part. I was disappointed with Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Anchorman. Oh, and I am still working on a post to be titled Suck Hard, but it might take a while for me to draw up enough bile to put words together about that movie. I had to put that in there so as to not sound like a shill for Judd Apatow. Here's what I like about the work that he and his cohorts do: the bring the funny but they also bring the heart. I know, Lifetime moment, right? Not that I don't enjoy cruelty and sarcasm, but it is nice that in his best movies the people are there for more than just jokes and in a way it ends up being the male version of a romantic comedy. One reason those movies do so well with women is that they usually put women in a positive light and make women feel good about themselves because the protagonist usually achieves some level of happiness at the end -- and how happiness is tied to getting a man is the subject of a whole different type of blog. In Apatow movies, the main character (a guy) often works against the grain of how men are often portrayed in modern popcorn comedies, which is the Kevin James-style all guys are stupid and women just have to put up with them that has eased over from sitcoms. This is often every guy in a RomCom that is not the one the protagonist ends up with at the end. In Apatow movies the guys are flawed but likable in a way that guys can relate to and the viewer pulls for him to succeed. In the end he usually ends up achieving what guys want to get, which is the girl and not having to give up who he really is to get that girl. Plus they're damn funny.

So that's my thought on why Apatow movies work. The ones that try to be just straight comedies do not work as much for me because I think a lot of the humor comes from the characters and Ron Burgundy, for instance, was just a prop. The supporting characters were the best part of that movie. But wait -- my point I really want to make is that since I have not seen the movie, the direction I would like to steer this conversation to is this: What is the best movie/TV show to come out of the Apatow factory? I will start by making the case for The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I find the main character to be the most likeable of all the Apatow men and it is arguable Steve Carell's best performance. His Andy is someone who is not just a loser but someone that a viewer can understand and for whom one can feel a lot of affection. The supporting characters are, as usual, hilarious but also create a great atmosphere of male camaraderie -- a rare trait in any element of popular culture. They might all be fools at times, but they are the kind of fools with whom you would want to be friends. And it's damn funny.

So I'm curious to hear your response. I have my guess at what you will pick, but I don't want to sway it because that will sway you. So I'll send it as an email to myself so that I possibly send a screen capture to prove the time stamp! Ha! Hey if we do have commentators, feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the best of the Apatow brand. Oh, and nice job on the two free screenings, by the way. I'm jealous.

P.S. I was just looking at the IMDB page for the movie and realized Judd Apatow's name is not connected to the movie at all. So I guess we're saying it's just that he's like the godfather?

P.P.S. I made it a whole post without using philistine! Wait. Damn it again!