Review #665: 'The 40 Year-Old Virgin' (2005)

After decades of being dragged to the cinema by our better halves to watch the latest Meg Ryan or Hugh Grant pap, it was only a matter of time until men fought back in the rom-com genre. Director Judd Apatow, along with co-writer and lead star Steve Carell, went the extra mile and actually created a rom-com that is both genuinely romantic and laugh-out-loud hilarious, but one that members of both sex can actually enjoy. But amongst all the sweetness there are four guys talking like genuine guys. So, this includes lines like "you need to put the pussy on a pedestal!" and "you know how I know you're gay? You listen to Coldplay." The language is filthy, but the script is heartfelt.

Andy Stitzer (Carell) lives a simple life alone with his collection of valuable (and still boxed) action figures and his gaming chair, working in the stockroom of an electronic store. He also rides a bike to work and never socialises, leading his co-workers to naturally assume he's a serial killer. When they find themselves a man down for a poker game, David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco) and Cal (Seth Rogen) invite Andy. After swapping freaky sex stories, it becomes clear that Andy is in fact a 40 year-old virgin, and so they make a vow to get him laid. Amongst his options are the girl from the bookshop Beth (Elizabeth Banks), who takes a liking to Andy after he takes Cal's advice, his horny boss Paula (Jane Lynch), and the spunky Trish (Catherine Keener), a woman who's just opened a store across the street.

The thing that The 40 Year-Old Virgin achieves most is how accurately it portrays its men. Sure, these are extreme versions of people we have come across before in our lives, but men generally talk crap and half-truths to each other about women, movies and computer games. The advice that David, Jay and Cal give is hardly helpful, and is based on their own half-remembered experiences that lead to the assumption that they are the ones that truly understands women. But they are all screwed up in their own way that their advice just leads to some amusing scenes, including the most famous scene of Andy having his chest waxed (which Carell really did, and he's the hairiest comedian since Robin Williams).

The film also succeeds in its honesty and its attention to detail. Andy isn't the badly-dressed, bespectacled nerd that has been seen in the likes of She's All That (1999), that once he's given a makeover, he's a hunk. He signals when he's turning his bike on an empty street and his Monday-morning what-I-did-at-the-weekend stories involve making an egg salad sandwich. He's relatable because he's real, so his quest to get his leg over becomes something ultimately more important. The supporting cast are all excellent, especially Malco, who I'm surprised hasn't gone on to bigger things, and Keener, who is surprisingly adorable after years of playing the bitch. Like many movies churned out by the Apatow machine, it's goes on for far too long, but that's easy to forgive when the film is this funny.


Directed by: Judd Apatow
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie