This Is 40 (2012)

A look at the lives of Pete and Debbie a few years after the events of Knocked Up.

Director:

Judd Apatow

Writers:

Judd Apatow, Judd Apatow (based on characters created by)

Stars:

Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Rudd	...	Pete
Leslie Mann	...	Debbie
Maude Apatow	...	Sadie
Iris Apatow	...	Charlotte
Jason Segel	...	Jason
Annie Mumolo	...	Barb
Robert Smigel	...	Barry
Megan Fox	...	Desi
Charlyne Yi	...	Jodi
Hugh Fink	...	Male Boutique Customer
Graham Parker	...	Himself
Tom Freund	...	Graham Parker Solo Band
D.A. Sandoval	...	Older Pregnant Parent
Megan Grano	...	School Playdate Parent
Mackenzie Aladjem	...	School Playmate Child

Storyline

Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are turning 40. But instead of celebrating, they're mired in a mid-life crisis with unruly kids, debt and unhappiness mounding. Pete's record label is failing and Debbie is unable to come to terms with her aging body. As Pete's 40th birthday party arrives, Pete and Debbie are going to have to rely on family, friends, employees, fitness trainers, aging rockers and ultimately each other to come to terms with life at age 40.

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Plot Keywords:

40th birthday | birthday | written by director | singing in a car | 40 year old | 

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Taglines:

The Sort-of Sequel to 'Knocked Up'

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, crude humor, pervasive language and some drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

This Is Forty

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,579,175 (USA) (21 December 2012)

Gross:

$67,523,385 (USA) (22 February 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apatow Productions, Forty Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main characters from "Knocked Up", Ben (Seth Rogen) and Alison (Katherine Heigl), do not appear in this "sort-of sequel", but references to both characters are made: A picture of Alison can be seen on the wall and Pete mentions getting marijuana cookies from Ben. Three other, more minor characters from Knocked Up, do appear in this movie as well: Charlyne Yi's character Jodi (an amiable stoner in Knocked up; now an employee in Debbie's store), Jason Segal's character Jason (one of Ben's best friends with a crush on Debbie in Knocked Up; now Debbie's persona trainer) and Tim Bagley reprises his role as OB/GYN Dr. Pellagrino.

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Goofs

Pete informs Debbie that two of Graham Parker's albums appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Albums of All Time. This is incorrect: only one Squeezing Out Sparks (1979) appeared at no. 335.

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Quotes

Pete: Snitches end up in ditches!

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Crazy Credits

After the main credits roll, there's an extended alternate take of Catherine ad-libbing insults during the conversation with the Julie, Pete, and Debbie.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.58 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Sick of You"
Written and Performed by Lindsey Buckingham
Produced by Jon Brion

User Reviews

Terrible

A good rule of thumb is any movie where Jason Segal has the funnier lines probably shouldn't have been made. This seemingly endless stream of hormonal tirades was difficult to say the least. Leslie Mann pulled this off once in Knocked Up. Which was a delightful film by comparison. But in This is 40 I could not find one sympathetic thing about her character or any of the characters for that matter. Part of the problem is KnockedUp was made before this basic cast was in every other film that came out. I kept waiting for Jonah Hill to happen by and suck up what little oxygen Leslie Mann hadn't already used. I am a fan of Judd Apatow. He's a comedy geek's comedy geek. Hence the casting of the brilliant veteran comedy writer Robert Smigel as the buddy of Pete. So I settled in to watch and see what Smigel could do as an actor. But he had two scenes in this nearly two and a half hour film. Guess they cut some of his scenes to make room for some more where Leslie Mann gets angry over nothing and curses and screams for half an hour. I was also excited to see Jim Brooks as Pete's father. He receives lots of screen time and is the second least sympathetic character. I do admire Apatow for having the courage to try and combine work and home by just putting his family on screen. But why so mundane? It's compelling when a film depicts regular people in not so regular situations. This film is made up of regular people who live in southern California and drive BMW's and Lexi and complain constantly about things that happen to everyone. It's exhausting. I will not give any attention to the children in this review as it is clear that they have received far too much attention already. On a strictly "laugh o meter" scale this film is not completely devoid of humor. Like say, Funny People. In fact, Funny People makes This is 40 look like The Jerk. Paul Rudd does fine as usual,and Megan Fox is great eye candy and "hottie relief". Here's hoping that this is the end of Apatow's tacky Cassavetes period.