In theaters

KNOCKED UP, written and directed by Judd Apatow, 129 minutes, rated R.

Some might scoff at the idea that a picture as good-naturedly raunchy as the new Judd Apatow movie, “Knocked Up,” also could be smart, warm and funny, but that’s nevertheless the case. Mirroring Apatow’s last film, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” the director’s latest is a terrific, deceptive sleight of hand.

Its title makes it sound purely lowbrow, which it certainly is in parts, but not in whole. No comedy this consistently laugh-out-loud funny could only be the result of sex jokes – after 10 minutes, they’d lose their punch. The energy would evaporate. Boredom would settle in. Nobody would bother to light up.

But light up they do. It isn’t often that you come upon a comedy that succeeds in generating laughs from each joke it goes after, but that’s true for “Knocked Up.” In the wake of such recent disappointments as “Shrek the Third” and the awful “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” the movie already is shaping up to be one of this season’s brighter highpoints.

The film stars Katherine Heigl as Alison Scott, a producer for the E! cable network who is celebrating her promotion to entertainment reporter when she meets Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), a 23-year-old, bong-smoking slacker who literally charms the pants off Alison – and who leaves her pregnant after a heated one-night stand.

What ensues is a movie that has no agenda other than to observe – there is no finger-wagging here. As such, instead of creating an uneasy comedy that finds Alison and Ben wrestling over whether to abort their child and each other, Apatow instead follows the awkward courtship that springs from their unlikely relationship.

It’s in this way that “Knocked Up” recalls the genesis of its title – it’s something of a throwback. Ben is an immature wreck, for sure, but he means well and he wants to do right by Alison, who recognizes in Ben (at least until her hormones kick in) someone who might be able to go the distance. As with all of Apatow’s characters, they feel real, which gives the film a soul it otherwise would have lacked, and also unexpected depth that doesn’t sacrifice the humor.

Much of the laughs come from the superb supporting cast. There’s Alison’s calculating sister, Debbie (Leslie Mann, Apatow’s wife), and Debbie’s husband, Pete (Paul Rudd), who have been married for years – and it shows. Also onboard are Ben’s stoner friends, a scattershot bunch who are as endearing as they are emotionally stunted, with Apatow seamlessly weaving their idiosyncrasies into the plot.

Comedy is too difficult to craft, its elements too challenging to get right, for its success to be a fluke. And nothing is a fluke in “Knocked Up.” As with the best comedies, the film mines its laughs from recognizable human traits. Its premise might sound like something some folks might dread, but as a movie, it’s everything you could wish for.

Grade: A

On DVD

THE GOOD GERMAN, directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Paul Attanasio from Joseph Kanon’s novel, 101 minutes, rated R.

Steven Soderbergh’s “The Good German” is at best a mildly entertaining curiosity, at worst an ambitious failure. The film is a misguided old soul so steeped in the past, it intentionally evokes the past, in this case the Warner Bros. noir films of the 1940s.

Set just after the war in 1945 Berlin, the film is less a movie than it is an experiment. It pilfers from a wealth of Warner’s more infamous noir classics – particularly “Casablanca,” which it’s modeled after – but also “The Third Man,” with countless other influences scattered throughout (Hitchcock and Wilder are major influences).

Attention to style is the movie’s main concern, not substance and certainly not character development. The story also is lacking, which is unfortunate since screenwriter Paul Attanasio adapted it from Joseph Kanon’s deeper, richer novel, which in the right hands could have made for a fine translation.

Still, since style is what Soderbergh wants, style is what audiences get. Shot in black-and-white by cinematographer Peter Andrews, who is a pseudonym for Soderbergh (as is the film’s editor, Mary Ann Bernard), the movie is beautifully familiar looking, with obvious care taken in achieving exactly the right look. The problem with this is that by working so diligently to nail that look, the movie comes off as a staged affectation. Everything else that should have mattered is ancillary.

The film follows Jake Geismer (George Clooney, wasted), a foreign correspondent for The New Republic who is back in Berlin to report on the Potsdam Conference. There, he meets two people who change his life – his shady driver, Tully (a shrill, sorely miscast Tobey Maguire), who enjoys rough sex and tough talk, as well as Jake’s former lover Lena Brandt, a femme fatale with black lips, a black flip and a blacker mood.

Lena is played by Cate Blanchett as if she tucked Marlene Dietrich’s remains into her soul – not to mention her throat. Her husky-voiced performance is pure mimicry, for sure, but at least it gives the movie an enjoyable jolt. With the actress’s angular body framed by the shadows and light, Blanchett proves consistently watchable, slouching and fretting through the role as if she were mildly annoyed.

Perhaps she was, because what Soderbergh has in store for her character are a bushel of convoluted secrets that threaten to bring down what’s left of the free world, but which never are satisfactorily explored. Like the good reporter he is, Jake goes through the motions of unearthing the answers to those mysteries, but in the shallow puddles of pseudonoir the movie courts, the result isn’t nearly as arresting as it could have been.

Grade: C

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays and Fridays in Lifestyle, and weekends in Television as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? BDN film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

Akeelah and the Bee – B+

American Dad!: Vol. 2 – B+

The Ant Bully – B+

Apocalypto – C

Arthur and the Invisibles – C

Babel – A-

The Black Dahlia – C-

Blood Diamond – C+

Bobby – C-

Borat – B+

Breach – B+

Breaking and Entering – C-

Cars – C

Casino Royale – A

Catch and Release – C

Charlotte’s Web – B+

Children of Men – A

The Dead Girl – A-

Deadwood: Third Season – A

Deja Vu – C+

The Departed – A

The Devil Wears Prada – B+

Dreamgirls – B

Employee of the Month – C

Eragon – C

Everyone’s Hero – C+

Fantastic Four: Extended Cut – D

Fast Food Nation – B-

Feast – C+

Flags of Our Fathers – B+

Flushed Away – B+

Flyboys – C-

The Fountain – D

Freedomland – C-

Friends with Money – B

Ghost Rider – C-

The Good German – C

The Good Shepherd – B-

Half Nelson – A-

Half Past Dead 2 – D

Hannibal Rising – C

Happy Feet – A-

The History Boys – B+

A History of Violence – A

The Holiday – C+

Hollywoodland – C

The Illusionist – B+

Infamous – B+

Invincible – B

Jackass Number Two – B

Kinky Boots – B+

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – B+

Last Holiday – B

The Last King of Scotland – B+

Letters from Iwo Jima – B+

Little Children – A-

Little Miss Sunshine – B+

The Marine – C+

M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen – A-

Match Point – A

Miami Vice – C

Monster House – B+

Munich – A-

Music and Lyrics – B

My Super Ex-Girlfriend – A-

Night at the Museum – C+

Notes on a Scandal – B+

The Painted Veil – B+

Pan’s Labyrinth – A

The Prestige – B+

The Pursuit of Happyness – B-

The Queen – A-

Rocky Balboa – B+

A Scanner Darkly – B+

Scrubs: Fifth Season – B+

Seinfeld: Season 8 – A

Sherrybaby – B+

Shut Up & Sing – A-

Smokin’ Aces – C-

Snakes on a Plane: A-

This Film is Not Yet Rated – B-

United 93 – A

Venus – B+

Volver – A

The Wicker Man – BOMB

World Trade Center – A