40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)

After a brutal breakup, a young man vows to stay celibate during the 40 days of Lent, but finds the girl of his dreams and is unable to do anything about it.

Director:

Michael Lehmann

Writer:

Rob Perez

Stars:

Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, Paulo Costanzo

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Hartnett	...	Matt Sullivan
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Erica Sutton
Paulo Costanzo	...	Ryan
Adam Trese	...	John Sullivan
Emmanuelle Vaugier	...	Susie
Lorin Heath	...	Diana
Aaron Trainor	...	Kellner
Glenn Fitzgerald	...	Chris
Monet Mazur	...	Candy
Christine Chatelain	...	Andie
Keegan Connor Tracy	...	Mandy
Michael C. Maronna	...	Bagel Boy (as Michael Maronna)
Vinessa Shaw	...	Nicole
Stefanie von Pfetten	...	Girl in Chinatown
Stanley Anderson	...	Father Maher

Storyline

Nicole broke up with Matt months ago and is now engaged to someone else. He's very good-looking and has no trouble finding other lovers, but that doesn't help because he's still obsessed with wanting her back. Then he gets the inspiration that swearing off sex for Lent (all forms of sexual activity, even kissing or masturbation) will give him the perspective he needs. So of course a few days later he meets a woman and they fall in love. Now Matt sees his vow as a personal matter, and won't even tell her about it, but his friends think otherwise, and now the complications begin...

---

Plot Keywords:

lent | masturbation | sex | love | dream | 

---

Taglines:

This March, sex takes a holiday

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

40 días y 40 noches

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$317,400 (Netherlands) (2 August 2002)

Gross:

$42,259,967 (Europe) (16 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Milo Productions, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Among the adult videotapes that Matt keeps in his wardrobe there are these titles: Midnight Tease, Emmanuelle: First Contact, 'Penthouse: Dear Diary', Penthouse: Pet of the Year & Friends, 'Penthouse: The Ultimate Pet Games', 'Banging Wood', 'In Diana Jones and the Temple of Poon' and 'Wet Slappin''.

---

Goofs

Matt's boss takes a few bites off the dried fruit in his hand but when he sets it down it is clearly uneaten.

---

Quotes

Matt: [bursting into his brother's chamber] You gotta help me!
John Sullivan: You gotta knock!
Matt: I'm seeing things! I swear to God, everywhere I look I'm seeing tits and ass. When I came in here, I swear to God, I thought I saw you kissing a nun. Oh, my God! You *were* kissing a nun!

---

Connections

References Brazil (1985)

---

Soundtracks

"Love Her for That"
Written and Performed by Teddy Thompson
Courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

Holding out for the One...

Michael Lehman's "40 Days and 40 Nights" is a surprisingly funny, smart, edgy romantic comedy with an amazing sweetness to it. This is a feat given some of the graphic dialog, and outrageous sight gags. Credit the star power of Josh Hartnett, the skillful direction of Michael Lehman, and a brisk and "in your face" screenplay by Rob Perez. The movie intends to offend, and we give it permission to do so-- the effect is a fun time at the movies.

Josh Hartnett plays young Dot Commer, Matt, who is suffering since his break up 6 months ago from Nicole (a viciously good Vinessa Shaw). Matt has visions of a Black Hole fissuring from the ceiling whenever he is having sex with women which is very often-- poor guy. Matt confides in his brother, John (Adam Trese), a priest completing his probationary period. John is not the tower of strength and inspiration that Matt is looking for. Then by design, divine intervention, or sheer insanity, Matt chooses abstinence for 40 days and nights until Lent. And this is extreme-- no fondling and... no masturbation. No one believes Matt will last 40 days, much less a week. Among the faithless is Matt's roommate, Ryan (Paulo Costanzo), who betrays Matt confidence and tells his co-workers at Matt's Internet company. They start a pool on a website predicting Matt's demise. In the meantime, Matt pursues a relationship with a great girl, Erica (a beautiful Shannyn Sossamon), who he met at the local laundromat. Also by design it just happens that Erica has a history of dating weirdos, and she works for Cyber Nanny, a company that safeguards against porn-sites. Matt also finds out that Nicole is back from Europe and now engaged, and she will not let him forget this. What makes the movie special is that Matt really falls in love with Erica without sleeping with her, and that he remains abstinent, because he said so... This is refreshing. Josh Hartnett is great here. His Matt is a good-looking, charming guy who makes an insane choice and lives with it. Hartnett also comes across as empathetic, as a man thrust in an almost impossible situation where everyone is betting on his failure. He has a quiet strength about him, is very funny, and totally believable. Shannyn Sossamon is stunning-- you can see why Matt falls for her. And when she wonders if Matt is gay, this is hilarious. Sossamon's Erica is smart and compassionate with great humanity. Playing a woman wondering why the guy she is attracted to doesn't want to have sex with her is not an easy role... or natural.

The humor in "40 Days" is raw, though enjoy the ride. Afterall it is a romance, managed well by Lehman, Harnett, and Sossamon. And we don't mind being offended as long as it is done smartly with style, and that we are ultimately touched.