97) The 40 Year Old Virgin

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Director: Judd Apatow

Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco, Jane Lynch, Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill

We got home pretty early this evening so decided to crash on the couch with a Baileys and a comedy. Kate had never seen The 40 Year Old Virgin and I hadn't really pushed it as she's a bit over the Will Ferrell or Judd Apatow sex based comedy which we see so much of these days. But tonight she wasn't so fussed so out of the quick shortlist we made up it got the thumbs up.

After numerous failed encounters with the opposite sex, Andy (Carell) has pretty much retired from the dating game, content with the life he has built for himself in his apartment surrounded by action figure collectibles, and various boys toys. However, when he is invited to make up the numbers at a late night poker game by a group of guys from work, he inadvertently reveals that he is still a virgin. Jay (Malco), David (Rudd) and Cal (Rogen) decide to make it their mission to help Andy break the drought. While the guys are trying to set Andy up and are showering him with advice, "Be David Caruso in Jade", he completely independently meets a woman he actually connects with, Trish (Keener). As their relationship develops, despite it never being a problem before, Andy starts to worry about his virginity, and how Trish will respond to it.

On face value this looks like it is going to be a pretty crass, lowest common denominator kind of sex comedy, but what you find when this movie gets going is that it is actually a really heartfelt, sincere and subtle film. The credit for that has to go to the really good screenplay written by Apatow and Carell, and the performances of Carell and Keener. It is the authenticity of their relationship which makes this movie more than just another 'trying to get laid' comedy. It also really helps the film that Andy is a loveable dork rather than a pathetic loser. You are always rooting for him (no pun intended) because he is just a nice guy.

When you look at The 40 Year Old Virgins cast list today it reads like a bit of an Apatow all-stars line up. But you have to remember that back in 2005 the US version of The Office was only just starting out so Steve Carell was really only known for work on The Daily Show and his supporting part in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Seth Rogen was a nobody, Jonah Hill was a nobody, Paul Rudd was either a nobody or 'that guy from Clueless'. This was the film that made Steve Carell a big star. Apatow actually plays on that fact by having Carell making a cameo in his next film, Knocked Up, in which he plays himself walking the red carpet blowing off an interview with Katherine Heigel's character. So this cast in 2005 was not the box office draw card that the same cast would be now. But what you see evident in this film is that camaraderie between the supporting players, that sense that you are watching real friends mucking around with each other, which would become such an integral part of later Apatow comedies like Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I Love You, Man.

Having seen the film a few times previously, the closer I got to the film's climax (no pun intended... ok, maybe a little) the more I dreaded what I knew was coming. I really dislike the way this film finishes. It ends with an almost Bollywood, though slightly less structured, song and dance number, 'The Age of Aquarius' from the musical Hair. While some people really like this bit, for me it doesn't fit at all and reeks of two things; firstly that they didn't know how to finish the film, and secondly that the 'Afternoon Delight' bit in Anchorman had been surprisingly popular so they attempted to replicate it. It's not as though it ruins the movie, it is just a shame that after such a good film the very final scene leaves you feeling a bit... 'meh' (that is meant to symbolise a slightly dismissive, shrugging, whatever).

While there have been a number of comedies with a similar kind of vibe over the last five or six years, the Apatow posse is definitely the comedy group of the moment, it is fair to say that The 40 Year Old Virgin is a cut above the rest. It sits at the top of the pyramid and I reckon as the years go on and films like Observe and Report and She's Out of My League have fallen away, this is going to be one of the ones that survives, along with Anchorman, Knocked Up and maybe Forgetting Sarah Marshall, to define this particular era of comedy.