Movie Review: "The 40 Year Old Virgin" (2005)

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Movie: "The 40 Year Old Virgin"
Director: Judd Apatow
Year: 2005
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Andy's (Steve Carell) nerdy life is turned upside down when his coworkers discover he is a 40 year old virgin. They make it their mission to do everything they can to get Andy laid. However, when Andy meets a woman he really likes and feels he can have a relationship with, mounting pressure from his new friends to have meaningless sex with a random girl may cause friction with his new love and major confusion for Andy.

"The 40 Year Old Virgin" marks the feature film directorial debut of Judd Apatow. Apatow also wrote the screenplay along with Steve Carell, who stars in this film as Andy, the titular 40 year old virgin. As a man who has never had sex, let alone a relationship, Andy has a lot of hobbies to keep himself entertained. He spends his time playing video games, practicing music, painting miniature figurines, reading comics, and he also has a massive collection of collectible toys that he has kept in their boxes since the second grade. One might say Andy is kind of a nerd. One night, he is invited to play poker with a few coworkers, and when the conversation steers towards their sexual escapades, they quickly discover Andy is a virgin. Now, these coworkers, including Jay, played by Romany Malco, David, played by Paul Rudd, and Cal, played by Seth Rogen, are hellbent and determined to get Andy laid as soon as possible with no romantic connection necessary.

This is one of our favorite comedies. Like most of Apatow's films, it is a raunchy romantic comedy, but may appeal to a very wide range of people because of its subject matter and its likable protagonist. There is a lot of wit to go along with some extreme silliness, plus a little slapstick for good measure. As the writers of "The 40 Year Old Virgin," Apatow and Carell bank on the presence of uncomfortable, awkward humor when it comes to Andy, his attempts to pick up women, and his endeavor to finally do the deed. Steve Carell does this kind of embarrassing humor really well. He is also extremely capable in selling the naivete Andy has when it comes to sex and women in general. Carell has come into his own as a leading man, and since this film, he has branched out to more serious projects, but we absolutely love him here and still think this is one of his best roles. He's quite the talented actor with a wide range, allowing him to fluctuate between whatever this movie calls for, be it a serious moment, a hilarious joke, or a heartfelt scene. Carell is not the only person to make this comedy worthwhile. The supporting cast featuring the likes of Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Jane Lynch and Catherine Keener bring their fair share of laughs as well. Malco, the suave player of the group, Rogen, the relaxed loudmouth of the group, and Rudd, the stage-five clinger of the group, are the perfect examples of how not to behave when it comes to women. This is one of Seth Rogen's earlier major roles as Cal, and it really serves as a launching off point for his career. Paul Rudd's love-jaded David is fantastic in his own right as he delivers his lines with his signature sarcastic wit. Finally, Romany Malco offers up many laughs as the self-proclaimed lady's man Jay. Andy, who seems like he just wants to make friends, nestles right into their horrible relationship advice until he eventually figures out that he needs to follow his heart. There are are also some great supporting and bit performances from Gerry Bednob, Leslie Mann, and Elizabeth Banks.

All in all, "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is a terrific movie. It is one of the best comedies from the first decade of this millennium, and it's one of our all-time favorite comedies in general. We laugh our asses off each time we watch this film, getting invested in the characters and this fun, touching story each time around. A fantastic, funny,, and worthwhile comedy for the ages!! 

My Rating: 10/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!
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One year ago, we were watching: "Along Came Polly"