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Movie Review - The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Judd Apatow |
| Starring: |
Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogen |
| Rated: |
R (for pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use) |
| Length: |
116 minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy |
| Tagline: |
Better Late Than Never. |
| Studio: |
Universal Pictures |
| Website: |
40 Year-Old Virgin |
| Release: |
August 19, 2005 |
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PLOT
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Andy is 40 years old. He is a virgin. His profane coworkers attempting to help him lose his virginity (while
being as sexually explicit as possible) ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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All right, here's the deal: if you're easily offended then you might want to stay far, far away from this one.
There are some painfully funny moments in the movie, but I probably blushed about as much as I laughed. Actually,
I probably blushed MORE than I laughed. And if I wasn't literally blushing on the outside, then I was blushing on
the inside. If there is absolutely nothing in this movie that embarrasses you then you simply have no shame.
Whether that's a badge of honor or not is in the eye of the beholder I suppose.
I will not deny that I laughed quite a bit, but this is a movie that I simply cannot give a blanket recommendation
due to its subject matter. If I were to say, "This movie is hilarious, go check it out!" and some sweet, little
old church-going lady heads to the theater and has a heart-attack during one of the graphically explicit sex
situations, well, that's just something I don't need on my conscience.
So how raunchy is it? Hmm, try about 100 times worse than The Wedding Crashers. Honestly. My mom would've
walked out during the first scene. I feel it's my duty to at least warn you of what to expect.
There is some cleverly intelligent comedy here, but that's what I come to expect from the man (Judd Apatow) who
had a hand in both Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. I'm all for making fun of Michael McDonald; the
only man whose hair and beard are white enough to give Kenny Rogers a run for his money. Paul Rudd proclaiming,
"If I hear Ya Mo Be There one more time I'll Ya Mo burn this place down," is hilarious, but it's one of those
things that the majority of the audience won't appreciate.
And when we see a quick 3-second flashback of Steve Carell singing along to Cameo's Word Up, I laughed for a
good two minutes after the joke was over, whereas most everybody chuckled and then forgot about it.
Strangely enough, despite the raunch, there's an admirable moral to the story. The movie doesn't portray Carell
as some freaky loser just because he's a virgin. He's really portrayed as a likable, admirable character. Sure,
he's a little weird. After all, he has a framed Asia poster, "more videogames than a teenaged Asian kid," and a toy
collection that features the Six Million Dollar Man's BOSS, but we're never led to believe that there's actually
anything wrong with the fact that he's a virgin. As odd as it may seem, there's a bit of an "it's OK to wait"
message.
But man, oh man, please be warned that this pushes its R rating about as far as it can go. That was certainly
Apatow's intention. According to him, he just let some of the guys (particularly Rogen and Malco) improv and talk
the way they normally talk, all in an effort to find lots of new ways to be dirty. If you can handle that or talk
that way yourself, then you'll love the movie.
I'm not a big fan of excessive profanity and sex jokes. I find that subtle, clever humor is much more entertaining
than about 200 uses of the f-word or fratboy sex discussions. But that's me. Like I said, there are some
absolutely hysterical moments here, but you have to ask yourself if they're worth sitting through one of the
most vulgar movies you're likely to ever see at the theater. I just don't know how interested most women will be in
what's discussed by men while playing poker. Honestly ladies, you might not want to know. If you've ever been
curious why some girls think guys are gross, well, this gives you a good idea.
There you go - my humble, honest take on what to expect. Be that your guide. It definitely should not be seen
with your Sunday School class, mama, grandmama, any family members of the opposite sex, children of any age,
or anybody who is easily offended by excessive profanity or explicit sex discussion. If you'd see it with any of
the above then you apparently do not have any concept of what it means to be uncomfortable.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Leslie Mann, who has a small role in the movie as "the drunk, vomiting chick," is married to Apatow.
- During the hilarious musical montage at the end of the movie, Romamy Malco does an M.C. Hammer dance. Malco
played Hammer in VH1's cheesily titled Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story.
- Romamy Malco has nothing to do with Malco Theaters in Memphis.
- The scene where Carell is getting his chest hair waxed is real. Carell felt it wouldn't be nearly as
funny if some sort of special effect was used. Watching everybody's legitimate laughing and expressions is
quite entertaining.
- Seth Rogen appeared on both Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. He's quite the funny
guy.
- Johnny can actually relate to Carell's character not wanting to open his action figures because they're
more valuable if they're in the original packaging.
- Steve Carell was in Melinda and Melinda with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin
Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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NO! WAY! They don't get much more vulgar than this. If you take a kid to see this then you should probably be
beaten.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer is almost a collection of the only parts that can actually be shown in the trailer!
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THE GIST
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Yes, it has some very funny moments, but it's probably even dirtier than you're expecting. Your tolerance level
of offensive material will likely determine your enjoyment level of the movie.
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