|
The 40 Year Old Virgin 9.5 out of 10 Posted: 06/18/08
Running time: 1:55 MPAA rating: R (Pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use.) Peruvian rating: Mayores de 18
Cast:
Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen,
Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch. |
 |
The 40 Year Old Virgin is the movie that started it all. It’s the film that launched both Steve Carell’s and Judd Apatow’s careers and made them household names, and the one flick that showed that 21st century comedies can still be funny. Granted, we have tons of films released every year starring the likes of Will Ferrell, or maybe those spoof films (being the “Zucker” ones that funniest, and the ones directed and written by Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg that absolute worst ones) that get released in theatres every three months, but none of those are as funny, inventive or, dare I say it, smart as The 40 Year Old Virgin. Simply put, Judd Apatow and Steve Carell’s combination of compelling romance and sympathetic characters with gross-out, hilarious comedy is genius. If, back in 2005, you were one of those cynical people that thought comedies nowadays were all stupid and unfunny, I’m pretty sure this movie right here convinced you otherwise.
The flick tells the story of über-geek Andy Stitzer (Carell), an inventory stocker at an electronics shop. Even though he tried to have sex for the first time when he was a teenager – he tried it more than once, actually – he never actually got to do the deed, and because he had such terrible experiences, he now totally shies away from women. He’s 40, and he’s a virgin, but his friends at the shop, David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen), are determined to change his situation. There are two possible candidates: Trish (Catherine Keener), a kind woman about the same age as Andy, and Beth (Elizabeth Banks) a horny, freaky and wild girl. Andy actually likes Trish a lot, but he doesn’t dare to “go a step further” with her.
The best thing about The 40 Year Old Virgin is, obviously, the humour. Unlike some movies starring the likes of Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler or Ben Stiller, the film never loses its edge, not even during the final few minutes of running time. Jokes and gags keep coming and coming, and they’re all absolutely hilarious. There’s a lot for everyone – gross-out humour, sexual jokes, bodily fluids, quotable lines of dialogue, and more. The surprising thing about the movie, is that Apatow and Carell (who wrote the screenplay together) never seem to run out of ideas, and that when they have a successful gag, they don’t repeat it too much. Some comedies tend to repeat their funny jokes so much that they end up boring the viewer, but fortunately that’s not the case here. Additionally, unlike some of the flicks starring the aforementioned comedians, nothing seems neutered. The 40 Year Old Virgin is R-rated, to be sure, which means there’s a lot of “mature” (or sometimes immature, hehe) comedy, but although the jokes and visual gags are all pretty sexual and sometimes disgusting – in a funny way, of course -, there’s never a scene that is too disgusting so that the audience flinches instead of laughing. The 40 Year Old Virgin is pure laugh-out-loud material during its entire running time.
Another refreshing aspect of the film is that one actually gets to care for Andy. Many comedies take advantage of their gross out gags or sexual jokes to make fun of their main character which, while resulting in potentially funny situations, might make the audience stop rooting for the protagonist. That’s not the case in here. One laughs with Andy, never at him, and although he gets involved in many gross situations – like when a brief “date” throws up on him inside her car -, the character is played and developed in such as geeky and likeable fashion, that it’s pretty hard not to grow sympathetic towards him.
All of this has to do with the acting too, of course. Steve Carell plays Andy perfectly; he’s got the right mixture of geekiness, shyness and charisma to make the character worth rooting for, and to make the audience care about her quest for love. Catherine Keener is effective as Trish, and has got tons of chemistry with Carell, something increasingly rare in recent comedies. Supporting performances by the likes of Seth Rogen (who would eventually star in his own Judd Apatow comedy – Knocked Up), the immensely likeable Paul Rudd, the hilarious Romany Malco, Elizabeth Banks and Leslie Mann (in a really memorable role as the aforementioned vomiting date) are all effective. Andy’s buddies might not be exactly three-dimensional characters, but they’re identifiable and funny enough to make them memorable.
If there’s a fault to The 40 Year Old Virgin, is that it’s a little overlong. The movie never loses steam, not even during its last 20 minutes or so, but one nevertheless feels a little tired during the end. Fortunately, we have an energetic and fun musical sequence during the end credits to compensate this – this scene is as unexpected as it’s entertaining.
The 40 Year Old Virgin is one of the funniest comedies I’ve seen in recent times. Although I didn’t have the opportunity to watch in theatres, I remember the first time I watched on DVD – I literally spent the whole running time laugh by ass off, my stomach hurting like hell. Is The 40 Year Old Virgin recommendable? Of course. It’s got an uncommon and compelling romance – 40 year olds kissing and making love! Oh my God! -, hilarious jokes and visual gags, effective performances and a sure-handed direction. I wish more comedies were like this movie; if you’re sick of “gross” PG-13 rated “comedies” full of stupid jokes and retarded characters, you’ll definitely LOVE The 40 Year Old Virgin. This film proves that R-rated comedies can be touching, intelligent and hysterical.
©2008 Sebastián Zavala - Star Wars Epica