The 40 Year-Old Virgin Review
by Jerry Saravia (faustus_08520 AT yahoo DOT com)February 17th, 2006
THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN (2005)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Three stars
I suppose it was only a matter of time before we saw a
comedy with a title like "40 Year Old Virgin." Though this comedy has a few misses, it does score some direct hits at the funny bone and it has a truly likable lead character.
Steve Carell is Andy, a 40-year-old virgin who works in the stockroom of an electronics store. His weekends are none too exciting, relegated to mostly making egg salad sandwiches ("I just forgot the bread.") One day, some
staff workers invite Andy to a poker game where they
spend more time discussing sex than actually playing
(though Andy is a poker expert since he plays it online). To the group's dismay, they discover that Andy has no
real sexual experience since he has no key details to
outline an experience (his giveaway line is stating that breasts feel like sandbags). Thus, his co-workers are
now intent on getting him laid.
The helpful co-workers include David (Paul Rudd), who
is still pining for his ex-girlfriend and has issues over singer Michael McDonald; Jay (Romany Malco), who's
sexually confident and takes pride on his appearance;
and Cal (Seth Rogen), who wears a Sonic Youth shirt
and declares that getting women drunk can lead to sex.
None of these guys prove very helpful to Andy, especially after a frightfully painful chest-hair waxing scene. Then there is Andy's first date, a disastrous encounter with a drunk (Leslie Mann) who vomits in his face. Another
potential date follows with a younger woman, Beth
(Elizabeth Banks), who works at a bookstore and whom
Andy smoothly lays sexual innuendoes on with the flair of a playboy. But the woman whom Andy feels connected
to is Trish (Catherine Keener), an Ebay store owner and a divorced mother and grandmother! Yes, no spoiler alert needed here, this Trish will be Andy's true love. Now if he would only admit his virginity...
Critics have not admitted this but "40 Year Old Virgin" is really a romantic comedy with profanity and sexual
suggestions galore. This is the story of a man who is
looking for the ideal woman to marry and then have sex with. Yes, we can believe he's had failed sexual dalliances
before, but he is really a Puritan model for abstinence. I am a bit disappointed that the writers (including director Judd Apatow and Carrell who co-scripted) didn't delve more into his daily habits. Andy is an avid toy and action-figure collector, watches "Survivor," rides a bicycle to work and tries to make egg salad sandwiches, but there is precious little insight into what makes him tick. He is a virgin and he wants the right woman to settle down with, but why does he keep women at arm's length? Fear of women, fear of
committment or, wait a minute, fear of his virginity? Or maybe he hopes the right woman will understand his sexual status and want to settle down anyway? Either way, more insight would've been nice.
Most of the movie contains scenes of Andy's co-workers
commingling by one-upping each other with graphic insults or speaking about sex in graphic detail (one such
discussion involves the opening phrase: "Know how I know you're gay..."). One memorably funny scene involves Andy's boss (Jane Lynch) who suggests becoming sex buddies
("I'll haunt your dreams.") Still, despite occasionally tickling the funny bone, most of these scenes seem like filler when they don't directly involve Andy. I would have liked more scenes of Andy at home, living his life the best he can with the knowledge he is a virgin.
I enjoyed "40 Year Old Virgin" overall and though it is far too long (the version I saw was 133 minutes). The last
sequence, which involves a song-and-dance performance
of "Age of Aquarius," is certainly far more tolerable than the song-and-dance routine at the end of "Hitch" (Question: did "Shrek" begin this whole finale-has-to-end-with-needless-song performance shtick?) Carrell and Keener have appealing
chemistry and the whole cast performs up to par. But with a juicy concept and major star in the making like Carrell, I expected more.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at:
http://www.jerryatthemovies.com/
Email me at:
[email protected] or at [email protected]
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