40 Year Old Virgin Review

I am a big Steve Carell fan. His work on the Daily Show was outstanding and the surest sign of a good actor is that he or she can be very good in bad movies. Seeing as he made me laugh in remarkably unfunny movies like Bruce Almighty and Bewitched, I came into 40 Year Old Virgin with elevated expectations. He and Judd Apatow surpass those expectations. The film mixes raunchy and sweet with remarkable aplomb and the pop-culture references are all note perfect ("I know you're gay because you like Coldplay" - and a hilarious opening monologue by Paul Rudd on the pain of hearing Michael MacDonald every day). But the film works because it's actually really well-written and well-acted. The main character is a three-dimensional person - not a comedy construct. He is a guy who is a forty year old virgin, not just a forty year old virgin. He is perfectly matched by Catherine Keener who finally gets a chance to be funny without playing the cold type of part she has almost become typecast in. The big fight they have near the end actually offers some dramatic weight becuase you understand why these characters are sabotaging themselves and you don't want it to happen. At the end of the year this will be on my short list for Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress.