The 40 Year Old Virgin: Unrated DVD Review:

The idea of a sex comedy is almost always followed by nudity and countless scenes of bathroom humor, but The 40 Year-Old Virgin chose another path, one which proves to be more effective. The humor in this new comedy is not reliant upon the sexual situations you would assume naturally tend to take over a sex comedy, but instead there is emphasis on strong characters, real situation, some of the best new comedic talent in years, and surprisingly even a bit of heart.
Many comedic actors spend years in supporting roles or small cameos. They make us laugh but are not household names until they have their one breakout role. For Will Ferrell this was Old School and since he has been a star since it came out. The 40 Year-Old Virgin marks the introduction of Steve Carell as a name we all should know. Known but not well known, Carell has had many memorable roles both in television and film. It is most likely that filmgoers will recognize him as the slightly retarded news anchor in Ron Burgundy’s anchor team.

In The 40 Year-Old Virgin Carell is Andy Stitzer, a really nice guy who has a few problems interacting with people. When Andy’s co-workers at the electronics store which he works ask him to play poker one night, they find out that Andy has never had sex and has given up trying, content to collect toys and play video games instead. From that moment on they decide that they must make it a mission of theirs to help Andy out. Andy doesn’t want anything to do with their quest until it allows him to meet Trish, a single mother that has had some bad experiences with guys. Andy likes Trish so much that he doesn’t want to mess the relationship up with the one thing which he has failed at for forty years, so they decide to make a pact not to have sex for a certain amount of dates.

While the concept of the film is humorous, the film never would have worked if all focus was on that one catch. The reason it does work and is undeniably hysterical is because of all of the unique comic stylings mixed together. Steve Carell plays the nice guy amazingly well with delivery which allows for him to be funny even without ever needing to go over the top. Playing a lead character straight and still remaining funny is a task which even the best actors often fail at.
As well as Carell there are other great talents which are often so good that the film feels more like an ensemble cast despite the fact that attention has been focused on Carell. Paul Rudd takes a strange twist with his character David, a lovesick and slightly obsessed and broken man, because he still keeps his edge as a bit of an ass. Romany Malco adds a nice change in comedic delivery as the one fast talker in the four. He plays Jay, an unfaithful smooth talker who takes pride in his abilities with women. Then there is Seth Rogen of Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, two shows which director of 40 Yr. Old Virgin Judd Apatow was connected to. Rogen plays Cal, a technical advisor in the store who thought Andy was a serial killer before he found out about his problem.

These four actors have some of the best scenes in the film because they work together and balance each other out. On top of that the script allows them to be caring and supportive to each other, especially Andy. This is one of the most important elements in the film because it adds some heart to a film which could easily have been very racy. While the film may have worked just as well filled with topless women and bathroom humor, it would have changed the dynamic and the sweetness would be lost. The way it was made allows for a new kind of R-rated comedy, one less raunchy but more mature than most PG-13 comedies.

The bonus material is very fitting with the film and focuses on all of the elements which made the movie work. There is a gag reel, which only seems to be funny if the actors are funny people, and there are few films which it is truer for than this one. There is also extra footage from the hilarious “You know how I know you’re gay?” routine in the film. Similar to that is a feature with other scenes in which lines are somewhat varied from the theatrical version. Obviously there was a great deal of improvised dialogue and it worked because of the actors. There is also extra footage from the Date-a-palooza scene, and a few general deleted scenes. There is also a featurette on the waxing scene, and a commentary track with Judd Apatow, Steve Carell and other cast members.

The unrated DVD is 17 minutes longer and also has a few extras which aren’t on the rated DVD. There are additional scenes with commentary, Andy’s fantasies with commentary, and a featurette in which actor and co-producer Seth Rogen has dinner with an adult film star.



Ryan Izay