40 year old virgin
Aug. 22nd, 2005 03:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orangerful'40 Year Old Virgin'
So, I figured I'd write a proper review for '40 year old virgin', since I enjoyed it so much. I don't know if I would have been brave enough to see it in the theater if Becky hadn't told me how good it was.
'40 Year Old Virgin' could easily have turned into a crude/rude fest that would have appealed to adolecsent boys...and that's about it. But, instead, it actually treats it's subject matter pretty well. Steve Carrell's character, Andy, isn't a "freak". He's just a guy who's had really bad luck with women. And after so many bad dates and horrible foreplay accidents...well, he just sorta lost hope in going all the way. The fact that he is a virgin accidentally slips out during a poker game with his co-workers. He is embarassed but he doesn't decide to make it his mission to get laid. No, he just tries to go on. It's his friends who decide that he needs to have sex.
The thing that makes this movie work is that they don't turn Andy into a sex obsessed fiend. I feel that his friends learn more about themselves than he does. They realize that perhaps they have let sex rule their lives, that they never got beyond the 'american pie' mentality of high school and found mature adult relationships. Because that is what Andy needs. Andy isn't some college frat boy who needs to sow wild oats, he's 40 years old and he needs a friend who will be with him and understand him. That's what he's looking for.
They give Andy's girlfriend a teenage daughter, which could have spell disaster for the movie. Instead, I found her little story to be another sweet moment. She's going through the "everyone else is doing it" phase, and wants birth control so she can have sex with her boyfriend. Andy shows up in the middle of the fight with her mother. She assumes that Andy and her mom are having sex (since she walked in on them sorta in preparation mode after their first date). Andy offers to take her to the sex-ed center. While there, the counselor asks who in the room is still a virgin and the daughter raises her hand honestly, while none of the other kids do. So Andy raises his hand. He says there's nothing wrong with it, it's a choice. The others laugh at him, but in that moment he takes the focus off of her and onto him and she does thank him for it. And she also realizes that her mother isn't just dating Andy for sex, that there's something more there.
Steve Carrell is surrounded by a fabulous supporting cast. People that you will recognize right away as "that guy" and "oh her!". A few of the daily show anchors pop up too. Paul Rudd, who has created a new carreer for himself in comedy (who knew!) does a fantastic job, as do the other two "friends". Just go read the cast list and you'll see what I mean. Carrell picked a movie that worked for his age and his style of humor. Just great.
Yes, the movie does have it's downfalls. The amount of "gay" jokes that bounce around get annoying. The big scene being when the guys are playing video games and tossing "i know you're gay cuz" lines back and forth, which actually resemble "your momma" style jokes in their silliness. I guess I'd have to ask a few gay people if they were offended by those moments or not. I've seen more offensive things said about homosexuals in movies, I never felt like this movie was mean spirited so it didnt' bother me as much.
Andy also is a bit of a "geek". He works at an electronics store, he has a huge TV, and he has action figures. If he took the toys outta the box, his apartment would look a bit like mine. And I'm actually pretty happy with how the film treated this aspect of his life. His friends don't mock his toys until they think a girl will see them, then they panic. And his girlfriend really doesn't make a big deal out of it. There is some confusion over what happened to his dolls by the end of the film. I assumed he had sold the ones he didn't really want to pay for their wedding/home and kept his favorites for himself. But I suppose it's only "dorks" like me and Becky that were worried about that. :-)
It's just a sweet and funny little film. It has an R rating for a reason, so if you're easily offended don't go. But the movie's heart is in the right place and I reccomend seeing it in a crowded theater so you can laugh together.
Let the sun shine in!
So, I figured I'd write a proper review for '40 year old virgin', since I enjoyed it so much. I don't know if I would have been brave enough to see it in the theater if Becky hadn't told me how good it was.
'40 Year Old Virgin' could easily have turned into a crude/rude fest that would have appealed to adolecsent boys...and that's about it. But, instead, it actually treats it's subject matter pretty well. Steve Carrell's character, Andy, isn't a "freak". He's just a guy who's had really bad luck with women. And after so many bad dates and horrible foreplay accidents...well, he just sorta lost hope in going all the way. The fact that he is a virgin accidentally slips out during a poker game with his co-workers. He is embarassed but he doesn't decide to make it his mission to get laid. No, he just tries to go on. It's his friends who decide that he needs to have sex.
The thing that makes this movie work is that they don't turn Andy into a sex obsessed fiend. I feel that his friends learn more about themselves than he does. They realize that perhaps they have let sex rule their lives, that they never got beyond the 'american pie' mentality of high school and found mature adult relationships. Because that is what Andy needs. Andy isn't some college frat boy who needs to sow wild oats, he's 40 years old and he needs a friend who will be with him and understand him. That's what he's looking for.
They give Andy's girlfriend a teenage daughter, which could have spell disaster for the movie. Instead, I found her little story to be another sweet moment. She's going through the "everyone else is doing it" phase, and wants birth control so she can have sex with her boyfriend. Andy shows up in the middle of the fight with her mother. She assumes that Andy and her mom are having sex (since she walked in on them sorta in preparation mode after their first date). Andy offers to take her to the sex-ed center. While there, the counselor asks who in the room is still a virgin and the daughter raises her hand honestly, while none of the other kids do. So Andy raises his hand. He says there's nothing wrong with it, it's a choice. The others laugh at him, but in that moment he takes the focus off of her and onto him and she does thank him for it. And she also realizes that her mother isn't just dating Andy for sex, that there's something more there.
Steve Carrell is surrounded by a fabulous supporting cast. People that you will recognize right away as "that guy" and "oh her!". A few of the daily show anchors pop up too. Paul Rudd, who has created a new carreer for himself in comedy (who knew!) does a fantastic job, as do the other two "friends". Just go read the cast list and you'll see what I mean. Carrell picked a movie that worked for his age and his style of humor. Just great.
Yes, the movie does have it's downfalls. The amount of "gay" jokes that bounce around get annoying. The big scene being when the guys are playing video games and tossing "i know you're gay cuz" lines back and forth, which actually resemble "your momma" style jokes in their silliness. I guess I'd have to ask a few gay people if they were offended by those moments or not. I've seen more offensive things said about homosexuals in movies, I never felt like this movie was mean spirited so it didnt' bother me as much.
Andy also is a bit of a "geek". He works at an electronics store, he has a huge TV, and he has action figures. If he took the toys outta the box, his apartment would look a bit like mine. And I'm actually pretty happy with how the film treated this aspect of his life. His friends don't mock his toys until they think a girl will see them, then they panic. And his girlfriend really doesn't make a big deal out of it. There is some confusion over what happened to his dolls by the end of the film. I assumed he had sold the ones he didn't really want to pay for their wedding/home and kept his favorites for himself. But I suppose it's only "dorks" like me and Becky that were worried about that. :-)
It's just a sweet and funny little film. It has an R rating for a reason, so if you're easily offended don't go. But the movie's heart is in the right place and I reccomend seeing it in a crowded theater so you can laugh together.
Let the sun shine in!
