40 Year Old Virgin, The

August 29, 2005 B. John 156 Views

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Goaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy whose never “done the deed” only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother.

Directed by
Judd Apatow

Genres
Comedy, Romance

Cast
Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil, Kat Dennings, Jordan Masterson, Chelsea Smith, Jonah Hill, Erica Vittina Phillips

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) is one of those rare comedies of late that is actually pretty funny. It is well worth shelling out eight bucks to see it in a theater. When I first saw the trailer I thought it looked like it was going to be a pretty silly movie. It turns out to be substantial in more ways than one. A big thing that is missing in a lot of comedies now is heart, and surprisingly this film has one (as well as hilarious jokes/situations). There were only two very brief scenes the story could have done without.

Andy (Steve Carell) is a tidy old-young person. He collects action figures and keeps them in pristine condition. He also happens to be big on video games. This would be cool if he were still a teenager, but he is forty years old. Andy works at an electronic store where some of his co-workers think that he might be a serial killer. Anyways, he gets invited by some of his co-workers who normally don’t talk to him to play some poker. David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen) learn during the poker game that Andy is still a virgin. After humiliating him by spreading the news to the rest of the store employees, Andy’s co-workers decide to help him in busting his cherry and forever losing his virginity. Comedic hilarity ensues.

The gags and visual jokes work most of the time, and pretty much everything is hilarious. I haven’t laughed out loud so hard in a while now. Carell, Rudd, Malco, and Rogen are great in this film. It was also funny to see Cedric Yarbrough and David Koechner in cameos. The film, in addition to having funny situations, has plenty of great women too. Elizabeth Banks and Catherine Keener stand out and are good in their roles. The film also has one of the most hilariously random song and dance numbers that I’ve seen in years.

Now normally I can see pretty much anything and not be disturbed by it. Hell, horror movies are my specialty. However, the wax scene in this film had me squirming in my seat. Brutal, absolutely brutal! I have to give Carell credit for actually going through with that. Judd Apatow has created a rather good comedy, and I’m hoping to see more from him. Check this one out.

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