copacetic zine - movie reviews: the 40-year-old virgin

the 40-year-old virgin
starring steve carell, catherine keener • directed by judd apatow • comedy • 2005 • rated R

plot synopsis: The title pretty much says it all! Steve plays Andy Stitzer, a 40 year old virgin.

review: Mike pretty much hit the nail on the head as we left the cineplex when he commented, "it reminded me of There's Something About Mary".

Bingo. TSAM was offensive, politcally-incorrect, cringe-worthy, etc. etc., yet somehow, underneath all the crud, was this sweet love story. The same is true for The 40-Year-Old Virgin: some of the scenes grossed me out completely (i.e. Andy with a morning erection peeing on his own face while sitting on the toilet...ew!), but then the romance between Andy and Trish (Keener) was actually quite sweet! It definitely makes it hard for me to say whether or not I like this movie...sure there were nice aspects, definitely, but would I watch it again? Nah.

random bad things:

This movie was two hours long! It didn't need to be that long...

Hey, just 'cause a guy collects action figures (Hi Mike) or plays video games (Hi Jeremy), it does NOT mean they are a loser!

hey, isn't that...?:

Cal (Seth Rogen), Andy's assistant at work? You might remember him from Apatow's old show, Freaks & Geeks.

Andy's boss? That's Jane Lynch, who's a regular in Christopher Guest movies, playing the dog trainer in Best in Show or one of the New Main Street Singers in A Mighty Wind.

The counsler at the health clinic? That's Nancy Walls, Steve's wife (!) and fellow former "Daily Show" correspondent.

One of the Dad's at the health clinic? Why, it's Jonesy (Cedric Yarbrough) from "Reno 911"!

did janice cry: Not a full-on sob, but I did get a little teary at the end, when Trish and Andy are in the street after he falls off his bike.

Honestly though, I kinda hope this movie bombs so Steve can go back to "The Daily Show" and do more "Even Steph/ven" segments with Stephen Colbert. "Yes", "No", "Yes", "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" (janice.08.05)

rating

three stars