Britt's On

40 Year Old Virgin
Starring: Steve Carrell, Catherine Keener
Costarring: Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jane Lynch, Romany Malco, Lesley Mann, Elizabeth Banks, Cat Dennings, Mindy Kaling & more!
Times Watched: 3-4
Genre: Comedy, 'Dude' Comedy, a tinge of Romantic Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes / Metacritic: 85% / 73

Road To Ownership: I remember watching this movie for the first time on a first date way back when. My boyfriend brought it to our combined movie collection.

The Plot: Andy (Steve Carrell works in the service department of a Best Buy-type electronics store. His motley band of coworkers recruit him to play poker one night, where it's revealed Andy is in fact a virgin, at the age of 40. The guys - really the entire staff of 'Smart Tech' - immediately band to together and make it their mission to get Andy laid. What follows from there are two somewhat separate storylines: the first are just a bunch of misadventures in Andy's evolution from ultimate nerd to reluctant sex god, while the second involves Andy's pursuit of a woman (Trish, played by Catherine Keener) who owns a store across the street from Smart Tech.


The Good & The Bad: This is the first in what has come to be known as 'Apatowian' films, and fittingly so - it marks the first time Director/Writer/Producer Judd Apatow is at the helm with all three hats on in movie world. It also results in the most focused and well-rounded of Apatow's films - with a fairly linear plot that still allows for plenty of hilarious meandering. The laughs are a plenty here, and if you can get past the extreme sexualization of women, it's pretty easy to join in. Each character has supremely funny scenes, and the setting of the electronics store makes for a surprisingly hilarious backdrop for the main action of the film. There is also a surprising romantic comedy element - although not as heartfelt as the sneaky romantic nature of other 'dude comedies' out there, it gives the gals in the audience something to appreciate other than the sex, sex, sex that dominates the film. What's also great is how far the hugely familiar cast has come since the movie. Watching it today provides more delight than when it first came out in some ways because you get to see all these popular comedic actors in one big happy family.


Best Scene: Tough call! This movie has a surprising number of randomly hilarious scenes. See: Steve Carrell getting waxed (also known as the only thing that kept me together as I thought about it while trying not to break out in sobs while watching Toy Story 3). Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen's 'You know how I know you're gay?'. Steve Carrell in the book store 'Do you like to do it yourself?'. Steve Carrell and Leslie Mann's drunken car ride. Any moment with Jane Lynch! Paul Rudd hating the music DVD! Speed dating!

I might go with the waxing. Not because I think it's the funniest moment in the film, but because I've heard Steve Carrell actually got waxed and everything in that scene happened once and once only, hence why the reactions on ALL of the actors are so priceless. It's like watching an SNL sketch!


Worst Scene: Leslie Mann throwing up shellfish sandwich on Steve Carrell is pretty gross. The rest of the scene is funny though :) I also hate the scene with Kat Dennings over-screaming at her mom. It hurts my ears.



Best Character: Jane Lynch as store manager Paula! Can I say I was on the JL train from the moment I saw this movie? Cause I was. She has always been my favourite part of this film - her delivery and comedic timing was perfect, and I'm so glad she's rocking it out on Glee now. Her Guatemalan lover singing a football song? Brill!

Worst Character: I'm not a big fan of Romany Malco's character in this film, and tellingly, he's the least popular of this crew. I felt like he got way too much airtime for being by far the most misogynistic creeper of the dudes.

Soundtrack of our Lives: Other than a couple of random, surprisingly 90s-esque bar tunes, the main musical highlight is the final musical number to the 'Age of Aquarius'. "MYSTIC CRYSTAL REVELATIONS..." Hilarious, but musicwise, this movie is a fail.

If You Like This You'll Also Like: Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall

FINAL GRADE: 3.5/5