How to Enjoy Judd Apatow Films

Judd Apatow is a writer, producer and director of American television and film. He has produced several successful comedies such as “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”, “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• DVD Player
• Television

1. Know Judd’s History. Apatow was fresh out of high school when he came to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a comedic actor. Yet, he realized his strength was in writing, and not acting. He has some serious writing and producing credits for “The Ben Stiller Show” and “The Larry Sanders Show”. He also was the creator of such critically acclaimed series as “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared.”
2. Pick up some of his early work. A great way to get familiar with Apatow’s films is to see where it all began. Check out some of his first film projects, such as “The Cable Guy” and “Heavy Weights.”
3. Watch “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared” these are tamer versions of Apatow’s sense of humor that will slowly introduce you to the R rated material present in several of his movies. Some cast members of these shows ended up starring in a few of Apatow’s most popular films, including Seth Rogen and James Franco. Rogen was in “The 40 Year Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.” Franco had a cameo in “Knocked Up”, and is a lead character in “Pineapple Express.”
4. Get used to the Frat Pack. These are a group of adult male actors, who collaborate with Apatow in his films. They are called the Frat Pack, because the audience that supports their films are usually college age males. Theses actors consist of such names as Ben Stiller, Will Farrell, Jack Black, Owen and Luke Wilson, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd.
5. Take some time to get into “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”, this was one of Apatow’s most successful films after “The Cable Guy.” The film was headlined by SNL alum Will Ferrell. This was one of the films that pushed Apatow further into the limelight, before the surprising success of “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” starring Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd.
6. Try not to be too serious. Judd Apatow’s films leave no subject off limits. Anything can be made fun of; so don’t get easily offended. Remember his movies are meant to make you laugh at life.