SPOILERS Each year, we all claim we're going to give up something for Lent. Whether for religious reasons, physical reasons or even for a bet, we all have attempted, and mostly failed, to sacrifice those things we need the most. It'd be interesting to know how many have attempted to sacrifice sexual activity for that time. In 2002's '40 Days and 40 Nights', Josh Hartnett's character tries just that. Crammed full of sexual reference and incredibly dumb moments, '40 Days and 40 Nights' is saved from the oblivion where it so obviously belongs by the pure fact that it is occasionally entertaining. Yes it never makes you fall off your seat in laughter, and the characters are incredibly shallow, but more often than not, you can't help but find yourself smiling.
Matt Sullivan (Hartnett) is a mess. Never recovering from his last girlfriends rejection, he leaps from bed to bed only to find himself suffering psychological trauma and hallucinations. Deciding he needs to get his head sorted, Matt decides that it is time to give up sex. Thus for the 40 days and nights of Lent, he gives up all sexual activity. Including personal relief into the decision, Matt finds temptation constantly around the corner, not least from the fact that he has a new girlfriend in the shape of Erica (Shannyn Sossamon).
Firstly, lets ponder the impossibilities involved with '40 Days and 40 Nights'. There's the fact that at one point he makes Erica orgasm using a flower, a fact that women will happily condemn at a moments notice (although most have probably tried after watching this film). There's also the fact that if a man goes from constant sex to no relief of any kind, that he's not going to have a say in the matter. The body will find a way to make him let off steam. The fact that for the entire time Matt lasts in the film, he never once experiences any sort of wet dream (as would happen in such a sudden 'cold turkey' situation), is just evidence of how little the creators thought this premise through.
Away from practical impossibility, the film also suffers from the predictable fact that it is often incredibly crude. Whether it is a hot office worker spreading her legs on the photocopier or Matt's hallucinations of naked women, the film is never afraid to lower the tone beyond sensible parameters. At just over an hour and a half long, it is just one long smut joke, and it's doubtful 'Confessions of a window cleaner' had this many sexual references.
All the characters are also incredibly shallow individuals. Obsessed with sex, every single girl offers herself to him in return for the possibility of winning money. At the same time, all of his friends, rather than supporting him, ridicule and humiliate him with an online betting syndicate. There's not an individual in the film that doesn't seem to be sex obsessed and superficial. This isn't real life, this is some sort of nightmarish fantasy.
So where do we go from here? There's so many criticisms about the film, there surely can't be any saving grace? Well, against all better judgement, there is. You see, whilst the film is crude, flawed and dumb, it is also at times entertaining. We're not talking hilarious or anything, but it does sometimes make you smile and enjoy it. You watch the story unfold, you really don't care for any of the characters, and yet you just can't turn it off. The film hooks you in and subjects you to ninety minutes of torture. Yet once it's finished, you do find yourself happy and content by what you've seen. It's always annoying when something like this happens, but when the story is really this bad, you find yourself even more frustrated.
Rude, crude, physically impossible and woefully shallow, '40 Days and 40 Nights' is not a good film. So it is with a heavy heart therefore to confess that you might actually enjoy it. It's a guilty pleasure. It's a film which is so inexplicably bad, and yet for some unknown reason, you find yourself occasionally smiling through it. You feel like the ninety minutes have been worthwhile, even though they haven't, and you genuinely believe that the film is worth anyone's attention. This is the evil of Hollywood at it's most pronounced and it's an annoying fact of life. You should hate this film, but you'll think you like it.
Matt Sullivan (Hartnett) is a mess. Never recovering from his last girlfriends rejection, he leaps from bed to bed only to find himself suffering psychological trauma and hallucinations. Deciding he needs to get his head sorted, Matt decides that it is time to give up sex. Thus for the 40 days and nights of Lent, he gives up all sexual activity. Including personal relief into the decision, Matt finds temptation constantly around the corner, not least from the fact that he has a new girlfriend in the shape of Erica (Shannyn Sossamon).
Firstly, lets ponder the impossibilities involved with '40 Days and 40 Nights'. There's the fact that at one point he makes Erica orgasm using a flower, a fact that women will happily condemn at a moments notice (although most have probably tried after watching this film). There's also the fact that if a man goes from constant sex to no relief of any kind, that he's not going to have a say in the matter. The body will find a way to make him let off steam. The fact that for the entire time Matt lasts in the film, he never once experiences any sort of wet dream (as would happen in such a sudden 'cold turkey' situation), is just evidence of how little the creators thought this premise through.
Away from practical impossibility, the film also suffers from the predictable fact that it is often incredibly crude. Whether it is a hot office worker spreading her legs on the photocopier or Matt's hallucinations of naked women, the film is never afraid to lower the tone beyond sensible parameters. At just over an hour and a half long, it is just one long smut joke, and it's doubtful 'Confessions of a window cleaner' had this many sexual references.
All the characters are also incredibly shallow individuals. Obsessed with sex, every single girl offers herself to him in return for the possibility of winning money. At the same time, all of his friends, rather than supporting him, ridicule and humiliate him with an online betting syndicate. There's not an individual in the film that doesn't seem to be sex obsessed and superficial. This isn't real life, this is some sort of nightmarish fantasy.
So where do we go from here? There's so many criticisms about the film, there surely can't be any saving grace? Well, against all better judgement, there is. You see, whilst the film is crude, flawed and dumb, it is also at times entertaining. We're not talking hilarious or anything, but it does sometimes make you smile and enjoy it. You watch the story unfold, you really don't care for any of the characters, and yet you just can't turn it off. The film hooks you in and subjects you to ninety minutes of torture. Yet once it's finished, you do find yourself happy and content by what you've seen. It's always annoying when something like this happens, but when the story is really this bad, you find yourself even more frustrated.
Rude, crude, physically impossible and woefully shallow, '40 Days and 40 Nights' is not a good film. So it is with a heavy heart therefore to confess that you might actually enjoy it. It's a guilty pleasure. It's a film which is so inexplicably bad, and yet for some unknown reason, you find yourself occasionally smiling through it. You feel like the ninety minutes have been worthwhile, even though they haven't, and you genuinely believe that the film is worth anyone's attention. This is the evil of Hollywood at it's most pronounced and it's an annoying fact of life. You should hate this film, but you'll think you like it.