At first you think this is going to be another one of those 'guy comedies' where the jokes are raunchy and offensive, halfway through it settles down into a rhythm that works.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:174
Fresh:148
Rotten:26
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: Steve Carell's first star turn scores big with a tender treatment of its titular underdog, using raunchy but realistically funny comedy to connect with adult audiences.
Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: 40-year-old Andy Stitzer (Steve Carrell) has done quite a few things in his life. He's got a cushy job stamping invoices at an electronics superstore, a nice apartment with a proud collection of... 40-year-old Andy Stitzer (Steve Carrell) has done quite a few things in his life. He's got a cushy job stamping invoices at an electronics superstore, a nice apartment with a proud collection of action figures and comic books, good friends, a nice attitude. But there's just one little thing he hasn't quite gotten around to doing yet--something most people have done by his age. Done a lot. Andy's never, ever, ever had sex--not even by accident. So is that such a big deal? Well, for Andy's buds at the store, it sure is. Although they think he's a bit of an oddball, there's certainly a planetful of stranger (and homelier) guys who've at least had one go at having a go. They consider it their duty to help Andy out of his dire situation and go to great lengths to help him. But nothing proves effective enough to lure their friend out of lifelong chastity until he meets Trish (Catherine Keener), a 40-year-old mother of three. Andy's friends are psyched by the possibility that "it" may finally happen...until they hear that Andy and Trish have begun their relationship based on a mutual no-sex policy. Comedy writer and producer Judd Apatow (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, TV's Freaks and Geeks, Kicking & Screaming) makes his feature film directorial debut with The 40 Year Old Virgin, starring Steve Carrell (Anchorman, Bruce Almighty, TV's The Daily Show) and Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich, The Interpreter) and an ensemble cast including Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil, Chelsea Smith and Nancy Walls. Apatow also co-writes the script with Carrell and produces along with Shauna Robertson (Elf) and Clayton Townsend (The Skeleton Key). [More]
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch
Director: Judd Apatow
Director: Judd Apatow
Screenwriter: Judd Apatow, Steve Carell
Producer: Shauna Robertson, Clayton Townsend, Judd Apatow
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Watching a good-hearted virgin is infinitely more enjoyable than spending time with a European gigolo.
Carell provides more than enough pizzazz and boyishness to make this work as a comedy and a bit of a charmer.
Balances gross-out humor with moments of genuine wit and even a little warmth.
Carell's real appeal is his complete and abject willingness to do anything for a laugh.
Carell brings something funny, and oddly real to Andy -- a touch of embarrassment, a bit of self-loathing, a genuinely sweet concern.
Carell and Apatow's script is so hip, funny and -- yes -- innocent that it's never offensive.
At the risk of sounding like a party pooper, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is essentially the joke spelled out in the title stretched out for nearly two hours, with lots and lots of dead spots.
Big salute to rookie director Judd Apatow and funnyman Steve Carell for reinvigorating the R-rated comedy.
What is surprising ... is how funny that raunchiness is, how sweet the romance bubbling under that raunch, and how utterly winning actor Steve Carell is in the title role.
I’d happily sit through separate films about any of Virgin’s co-stars.
In this summer of raunchy, hilarious R-rated comedies, Virgin fits right in--even if the one-joke premise gets a little stale towards the end.
The raunchy humor is at least one notch above Wedding Crashers and even makes American Pie seem pretty tame.
It’ll take more than one film to secure Carell’s place as a comic star but The 40 Year Old Virgin turns out to be a good start.
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