The 40 Year Old Virgin DVD Review:

At forty years old, Andy (Carell) has got his life just how he wants it. He has a decent job, his hobbies and his TV shows making his life as organised as anyone’s could be. But when Andy inadvertently starts spending more time with David (Judd), Jay (Malco) and Cal (Rogen) from work, they discover that he is missing something monumental from his life and they just can’t believe it.

With an abundance of gross-out and spoof comedies dominating Hollywood’s comedic out over the past few years, there has been very few comedy movies that really hit the mark, ‘The 40 Year-Old Virgin’ changes all of that.

Hollywood’s main problem is that it finds a formula and sticks to it until it can bleed it dry. This is what has happened to comedy over the past ten years. Both gross-out and spoof comedies have been flogged to death by the all of the major studios. There have been some shining lights however and this has been the output of new generation of comedic talents. One of those comedians is Steve Carell.

Better known for his supporting roles in ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’, ‘Bruce Almighty’ and the American version of ‘The Office’, Carell finally gets his chance to shine in a lead role that he really makes his own. As innocent Andy, he is still living this life like he is in his late teens. Obsessed with video games, comics and collectables, his life has become a route after suffering years of rejection and embarrassing moments while trying to get closer to the fairer sex. He has given up on women and because of that sex. Carell plays the role superbly, making Andy that nice guy that women never notice and not the geek that could be so easily ridiculed. This fact makes both the character and, as a result of this, the movie a real success.

What all great comedies need is a collection of supporting characters to play on the lead’s predicament. Paul Rudd, Romany Malco and Seth Rogen are excellent as Andy’s work colleagues David, Jay and Cal. Each of them has different advice on how Andy should approach women and the performance of each of these actors brings these characters to life. David is man hurt by a failed love, who has differing reactions to women depending on how he is remembering his relationship with his ex. Jay is the ladies man, who tries to teach Andy how to pick up the ‘easy’ women. Cal is the everyman who tries to give Andy advice on how to actually speak to women. These three performances are important to the film as they drive Andy’s character into most of his misadventures with the opposite sex.

The female support is also good. Catherine Keener is a good as ever as Trish, the ideal woman for Andy, whom he just happens to be too scared to talk to. Elizabeth Banks plays Beth, the girl Cal pushes him towards and the one who might just push him a little too far. Leslie Mann is Nicky, a woman who really can’t handle her drink and definitely someone who wouldn’t accept a ride from. Lastly we have Jane Lynch as Andy boss Paula, who finds his predicament intriguing.

What sets the film apart from most other comedies that have graced the silver screen over the last few years is the quality of the laughs. This is a movie that will have you giggling constantly and laughing out on many occasions. With hit after hit after hit, there are very few misses, even when the film slows down slightly towards the end.

‘The 40 Year-Old Virgin’ is a hilarious movie with a good story and extremely likable and funny characters. While it may be slightly over long, there are more than enough laughs to captivate you throughout. Steve Carell is a comedic superstar in the making.

Star Rating = * * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented extremely well.

BONUS FEATURES

You Know How I Know You Are Gay? (5.31 mins)
With optional commentary by director Judd Apatow and actor/producer Seth Rogen, this is an extended version of the conversation between David and Cal while playing video games at Andy’s house. The scene shows the hilarious improvisational skills of the two comic actors.

Andy’s Fantasies (1.59mins)
With optional commentary by director Judd Apatow and actor/producer Seth Rogen, you can see two of Andy’s fantasies, one with a porn star and one with a very sexy newscaster.

Cal and Paula (2.55 mins)
With optional commentary by director Judd Apatow and actor/producer Seth Rogen, this extended scene shows the improvisational talents of Jane Lynch and Seth Rogen as Cal and Paula talk about Andy’s problem and their own fantasies.

Deleted Scenes (12.45 mins)
Entitled ‘Getting Ready’, ‘Drunk driving alternate ending’, ‘First time karaoke’, ‘Rooftop confessions’, ‘Kid costumers’ and ‘Andy and Jazzmun’, these deleted or extended scenes with optional commentary by director Judd Apatow and actor/producer Seth Rogen, are extremely funny, especially the karaoke scene.

Extended Scenes & Gag Reel (27.14 mins)
Extended scenes entitled ‘Advice from Mooj’, ‘Waxing Doc’, ‘Date-a-Palooza’, ‘Line-o-rama’, ‘My dinner with Stormy’ and the Gag Reel, these are the complete versions of the scenes and a behind the scenes look at Andy’s waxing scene. The full version of ‘Date-a-Palooza’ is hilarious as we see how obsessed David was with his ex-girlfriend Amy. We also get to see the alternative and improvisational lines from the cast from funny moments within the film. These scenes are hilarious and a real added bonus to the DVD, especially lucky Seth Rogen’s dinner with porn star Stormy.

Trailers
Previews of ‘The Skeleton Key’ and ‘Serenity’

OVERALL

Universal has done a good job with the DVD version of ‘The 40 Year-Old Virgin’ but not as good as it could have been. While the Region 1 (North American) version has commentaries and an extended/unrated cut of the movie, the Region 2 (European) edition however has the same extra features but doesn’t have either the commentaries of extended version of the film. This is a real same for fans, making you want to import the Region 1 version. This aside, the extra features are extremely funny and well worth a watch.



Jamie Kelwick