Will Laughter Be the Key to Megan Fox's Comeback?

The last eighteen months have been sort of tough on Megan Fox. Despite being fairly terrific, Jennifer's Body was a gigantic bust. Then there was her whole ouster from Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, which would have been bad enough if she wasn't replaced by a Victoria's Secret model. Even her bid for Indie Spirit glory, Passion Play, was almost unceremoniously dumped on DVD (Image will release the film in theaters on May 6; the DVD arrives May 24). How can a girl rebound after career stumbles like that?

By laughing, apparently. Hot on the heels of filming a supporting role as Adam Scott's girlfriend in the Jennifer Westfeldt-Jon Hamm comedy Friends with Kids, THR is reporting that Fox is being courted for Judd Apatow's non-sequel sequel to Knocked Up with Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.

Grain of salt in hand just in case this doesn't actually come to fruition, but: what a genuinely good idea! After slogging along as nominal eye-candy, it appears that Fox has decided to focus her acting roles on ensemble pieces with dramedy slants -- no doubt both Friends with Kids and Not Knocked Up 2 will feature healthy amounts of laughter and pathos. Which is kinda perfect for Fox, since -- as Jennifer's Body proved -- there is a wicked sense of humor underneath Fox's magazine cover visage, and even a some real depth. Or at least more depth than she had to show opposite Shia LaBeouf and a giant green screen in Transformers. And if Body wasn't able to convince you of Fox's comedy bona fides, there's always the episode of "Red Band Trailer" where she was able to match wits with both Diablo Cody and Movieline's own Louis Virtel (watch below).

Preemptive groan, but still: Might it be Megan Fox who has the last laugh?

· Megan Fox in Talks for Judd Apatow's Next Film [THR]