Lessons We’ve Learned From Judd Apatow Movies, Told Through GIFs

In a recent Vanity Fair profile of Barry Levinson’s must-see 1982 comedy, Diner, writer S.L. Price discussed the significance of the film, writing, “Levinson took the stuff that usually fills time between the car chase, the fiery kiss, the dramatic reveal — the seemingly meaningless banter (‘Who do you make out to, Sinatra or Mathis?’) tossed about by men over drinks, behind the wheel, in front of a cooling plate of French fries — and made it central.” Judd Apatow took that “nothing” premise, and turned into a multimillion dollar comedy empire.

The Apatow brand is most commonly associated with the slacker man-child, but that’s not giving him, or his films (whether as writer, director, or producer), enough credit; in those seemingly time-filling scenes, Apatow can reveal more about a character than other writers can with an entire monologue. Think about the famous “these scenes?” scene from Knocked Up, and what that said about Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd’s relationship and how even though they’re sitting at a table with their pregnant girlfriend and wife, they’re only trying to impress the other. It’s the deepest conversation about “baby goo” ever.

Apatow’s latest film, the sort-of sequel to Knocked Up, This Is 40, comes out today, so we thought we’d go back and look at all the life lessons he’s given us over the years. FYI: we learned from Drillbit Taylor.

Work hard, and you’ll get what you want.