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A couple of more comedies like “Knocked Up” and we may have to start referring to 2007 as the year of the comedy. Two months ago, Edward Wright’s “Hot Fuzz” won the praise of the majority of the movie critics and now this beauty and the beast comedy has just about everyone in an uproar.

2006 had “Little Miss Sunshine”, but what else did it have? Are we looking at this year’s comedy that will be nominated for best picture? 2007 has already seen two good comedies and I think it will see at least a third with August’s “Superbad” (made pretty much by the same team from “Knocked Up.”) I think it’ll be Supergood.

With “Knocked Up,” director Judd Apatow has successfully blended a cute and sweet romantic comedy with a raw humored frat boy one. No small task and Mr. Apatow generally gets the mood and tone of the picture right.

“Knocked Up” begins with the boy meets girl storyline. The boy is Ben Stone(Seth Rogen), a 23-year old deadbeat who lives with his four roommates, whom he hangs out with (pot smoking, beer drinking, clubbing, amusement park riding, you name it). The girl is Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), who is celebrating her promotion at the E! television studio in which she now gets to be a TV personality and interview celebrities.

They meet at a local night club, get wasted, have a lot of fun and make the biggest mistake of their lives, or so they think at the time. Ben doesn’t wear a condom before having sex and nine weeks later, Alison discovers, in a very amusing scene with James Franco in which she vomits in front of him, that she is pregnant.

From that point, “Knocked Up” tells the tale of how one decision brings two people who are of polar opposites together. Allison’s first impression of Ben (and by first impression I mean one in which she is sober) is not a very good one at all. Ben realizes what this situation requires and jumps on board to support Alison while simultaneously trying to work out their differences and make a relationship work.

Seth Rogen brings superb character development to Ben. We see a man slowly transform from a rude, overweight slacker to a big teddy bear. Rogen makes it believable that a guy like him could end up with a hottie like Alison because he is trying to make things work and women love a man who tries. I think he’s a great comedic actor and a rising star in the business.

Rogen and Heigl are certainly not the only players who contribute to the laughfest. All the supporting players pitch in. Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, and Martin Starr are hilarious as Ben’s roommates as are Leslie Man and the always funny Paul Rudd as Alison’s sister and brother-in-law.

The most impressive thing about “Knocked Up” is that Apatow does a wonderful job of showing both sides of the affair here. The men are men and the women are women in this film.

“Knocked Up” has enough jokes sustained in it that Apatow can delve right into the dramatic relationship conflict scenes without losing the audience. But he may have overdid it a little. For me, “Knocked Up” is a good 130 minute comedy while it should have been an excellent 100 minute comedy. I say if you have enough jokes and know you’ll keep your audience gasping for air for over two hours, then go for it. “The 40- Year Old Virgin” was such a film but this is not quite the case with “Knocked Up.” When one considers the plot line of “Knocked Up,” it seems that it should easily fit in under 2 hours. But this is nothing to throw a temper tantrum over because overall, “Knocked Up” is a pretty good comedy.

Apatow has not surpassed his classic “The 40-Year Old Virgin,” but has delivered a nice follow up project. One can only wonder and anticipate what he has in store for us next.