The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Director:

Judd Apatow

Writers (WGA):

Judd Apatow (written by) &
Steve Carell (written by)

Release Date:

19 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A Comedy about the moments that touch us in ways we've never been touched before.

Plot:

Goaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy who's never "done the deed" only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Collection | Poker | Virgin | Ebay

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Steve Carell	...	Andy Stitzer
Catherine Keener	...	Trish
Paul Rudd	...	David
Romany Malco	...	Jay
Seth Rogen	...	Cal
Elizabeth Banks	...	Beth
Leslie Mann	...	Nicky
Jane Lynch	...	Paula
Gerry Bednob	...	Mooj
Shelley Malil	...	Haziz
Kat Dennings	...	Marla
Jordy Masterson	...	Mark (as Jordan Masterson)
Chelsea Smith	...	Julia
Jonah Hill	...	eBay Customer
Erica Vittina Phillips	...	Jill

Also Known As:

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (USA) (poster title)
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (USA) (DVD box title)
Untitled Steve Carell Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

116 min | Philippines:112 min (cut) | 133 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | Finland:K-11 | Norway:15 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Portugal:M/12 | Philippines:R-13 | Canada:14A (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:Btl | Czech Republic:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Finland:K-15 (extended version) | USA:Unrated (unrated version) | Chile:14 (extended version) | Japan:R-15 | South Korea:18 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Malta:16 | Singapore:M18 (also unrated version) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Austria:16 | USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

According to Seth Rogen, Steve Carell was so nervous that the film would be shut down by the studio, he had the writers prepare a back-up version of the script that didn't contain a single word of profanity.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Cal and David are playing a video game in Andy's apartment, Cal is using a Nintendo 64 controller. However the game they are playing is Mortal Kombat: Deception, a game that was released on the Xbox, Gamecube and Playstation 2, not the Nintendo 64.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joe: Hey Andy! What's up, dude?
Andy Stitzer: Hey Joe. Hey Sara. How you doing?
Joe: When you gonna get a car?

Movie Connections:

References Teen Wolf (1985)

Soundtrack:

Fine Women

Prepare to blush as much as you laugh

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 Carrell 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 Carrell 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 an Asian kid," and a toy collection that features the 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.