The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Judd Apatow

Writers (WGA):

Judd Apatow (written by) &
Steve Carell (written by)

Release Date:

19 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A Comedy about the moments that touch us in ways we've never been touched before.

Plot:

Goaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy who's never "done the deed" only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Poker | Collection | Virgin | Love

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Steve Carell	...	Andy Stitzer
Catherine Keener	...	Trish
Paul Rudd	...	David
Romany Malco	...	Jay
Seth Rogen	...	Cal
Elizabeth Banks	...	Beth
Leslie Mann	...	Nicky
Jane Lynch	...	Paula
Gerry Bednob	...	Mooj
Shelley Malil	...	Haziz
Kat Dennings	...	Marla
Jordy Masterson	...	Mark (as Jordan Masterson)
Chelsea Smith	...	Julia
Jonah Hill	...	eBay Customer
Erica Vittina Phillips	...	Jill

Also Known As:

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (USA) (poster title)
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (USA) (DVD box title)
Untitled Steve Carell Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

116 min | Philippines:112 min (cut) | 133 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | Finland:K-11 | Norway:15 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Portugal:M/12 | Philippines:R-13 | Canada:14A (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:Btl | Czech Republic:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Finland:K-15 (extended version) | USA:Unrated (unrated version) | Chile:14 (extended version) | Japan:R-15 | South Korea:18 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Malta:16 | Singapore:M18 (also unrated version) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Austria:16 | USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Several times in the movie, Cal wears t-shirts with music LP covers on them. They are: - Nirvana: Nevermind - Sonic Youth: Dirty - Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet - 'Genius/GZA': Liquid Swords

Goofs:

Factual errors: The SmarTech store where Andy works has factual error in the store hours information: Mon-Fri: 10am-9pm Fri-Sat:10am-10pm Sun: 11am-7pm. According to them Fri closes at 9pm and also at 10pm.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joe: Hey Andy! What's up, dude?
Andy Stitzer: Hey Joe. Hey Sara. How you doing?
Joe: When you gonna get a car?

Movie Connections:

References "The Greatest American Hero" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Get Ur Freak On

a healthy reminder that sex jokes can be well crafted; Carrell is genius

Something about the 40 Year Old Virgin and the other comedy hit of the summer, Wedding Crashers, is similar, but they are two different films in some respects. Both are romantic comedies that have that kind of over-the-top, crazy sensibility that keeps the teens and guys in their 20's along with the usual dating crowd to go see the films. Both have some sort of formula to the stories as well. But by the end of the 40 Year Old Virgin, I think I found overall it was more satisfying than 'Crashers'. Although one can guess where the relationship story with Steve Carrell's character Andy and Catherine Keener's character Trish will go to, it isn't too basic for one to figure out like with Crashers, and the characters both leading and supporting are realistic, more rounded than most of the one-dimensional or unexplained people in the other. And, perhaps, it may also depend on how much you identify (or just find the lunacy) in both.

The thing is some people may go into The 40 Year Old Virgin not knowing Steve Carrell as well as Owen Wilson or Vince Vaughn, as Carrell has built up his cult status on The Daily Show (one of my favorite shows on now) and in small but unforgettably riotous roles in Anchorman and Bruce Almighty. This is his first starring role, but it's not treated like some third rate vehicle. He and co-writer/director Judd Apatow treat the character of Andy with a certain level of sincerity that keeps the audience on his side all the way, even early on as he talks to his action figures while re-painting them. It's also a tricky line to walk on- in lessor hands this could be no more or less entertaining than the Lackluster 40 Days and 40 Nights with Josh Hartnett (also about sexual dysfunction). As the title suggests, Andy is the 40 year old who is like the nice guy friend with still a little Pee-Wee Herman in him (the opening over the credits of his his apartment is hilarious, a good sign).

So, his friends (among them Paul Rudd, Romany Mancoy, Seth Rogen, all very good comic foils) try and devise different strategies and tips to finally break the sort of curse over Andy's head to pop his cherry, so to speak. He almost gets with a overly drunk woman, he almost gets with a freaky kind of girl, and almost with his own boss (Jane Lynch, also very funny in the mockumentaries) as a (explitive) buddy. But this soon all starts to fade as he gets into a meaningful relationship with Trish, who works across the street from him. As they build on a relationship not based at all on sex, one might worry that the plot gear of "how is he going to tell her such and such" might get in the way of the comedy. It doesn't. In fact, if anything, Carrell and the cast build on it to a very high degree. For practically an hour and a half of the film's two hour length, there was barely a moment I wasn't laughing, whether big or small.

The big laughs though make up for not just any kind of formalities with the plot, or one or two little stray stories (the fellow co-workers have their own relationship problems as well, Rudd's being the funniest). The big laughs come through because of Carrell's reactions, and that the people around him can either back up with their own sort of humor/charm, or that its with some truth. Keener gives a very good performance and makes it so that there is a genuine spirit to their relationship (and, un-like 'Crashers', there isn't as much that doesn't make sense character wise). For someone like me who loves it when a comedian can get laughs just from the way he looks on his face, Carrell gets very high points here. And like with a Farrelly brothers movie, the more raunchy or outrageous scenes are done with total absurdity; the 'waxing' scene (which was done for real, by the way) and the sort of Aquarius musical number towards the very end of the film (the way it comes out at first is a total, uproarious surprise). But if you're willing not to get offended by it, there's more where that came from. This is one of the funniest films of the year.