The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Review by Clint Morris
Much like finally getting into that wildly
popular nightclub - having stood outside of it for so long, ever so
excited about what lied beyond the velvet rope - but slightly
disappointed when you finally get inside, The 40-Year-Old
Virgin is a film best viewed from afar.
It's funny, sure, and it will entertain
(unless of course you are a middle-aged man with cherry still intact),
but much like eating an entire box of cookies, when you should have
only tasted the one, it's a movie best suited to a television show skit
- the briefer, the better.
Still, there are at least five or six good
moments in here - and they're close to undie-wetters. Already, it's
better than Will Ferrell's most recent crop of crap.
Rising comic superstar Steve Carell (Anchorman,
Bruce Almighty, the boss from the
American version of 'The Office,' and the upcoming Get Smart
movie) plays the title character; an unworldly, rather geekish man who
becomes even more of a joke to his oversexed and boisterous co-workers
- played by Paul Rudd, Romany Malco and Seth Rogen - when they discover
the closest he's got to a 'bust' is watching the last five minutes of
an NYPD Blue episode.
The search is then on to get a woman to make
Andy (Carell) a man, and boy oh boy, do the ladies (well, most of them
are ladies, though one has a rather suspicious Adams apple) come out of
the woodwork. Sadly, the couple that do take a shine to the cordial
comic-book geek are as together as a half-finished go-kart.
Ultimately, Andy crosses paths with Trish
(Catherine Keener), who runs the shop across the road from his. They
click, but he is a little hesitant to go horizontal jogging with her.
And that, naturally, gives her mixed signals.
There are some stellar moments in the film,
especially early on, when Andy's big secret is newly discovered, but
unfortunately, there's not enough to sustain a 115-minute movie. Still,
it never gets dull - and compared to some of the other comedy clunkers
of the last twelve months that is saying something. After all, some are
still waking from Kicking and Screaming, whilst
others are yet to be informed that they can open their eyes - Meet
the Fockers is finished.
Steve Carell does have something - I have to
admit. He has a very likeable screen presence, and is a good fit for
the role here. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to know his character that
well though, and at times it makes his performance come off as a little
unsure - is he a dork with only a peanut-for-a-brain? Or is he really a
naïve, sweet charmer? He doesn't even seem to know.
Still, this is a surprisingly good time, and
if only the editor had taken to the scissors to a couple of those
long-drawn out scenes in the chunky middle - we might have had an even
better film.
3 out of 5
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Australian release: Thursday the 6th of October, 2005
Cast: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany
Malco, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann.
Director: Judd Apatow.
Website: Click here.
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