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 The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)Rated: R for pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use. Runtime: 116 mins. Director: Judd Apatow Writer: Judd Apatow and Steve Carell Cast: Steve Carell; Catherine Keener; Paul Rudd ... complete cast Tagline: Better Late Than Never. Genre: Comedy/Romance Memorable Quote: "Yooooooooow, Kelly Clarkson!"
By Gilbert
Andy is played by Daily Show veteran Steve Carell (who had memorable turns in Bruce Almighty and Anchorman) in a performance that refuses to make Stitzer the tail-end of every joke and gets the audience to consider that avoiding sex is not the worst fate that could befall a person. Carell, co-wrote the screenplay with Judd Apatow (directing his first major motion picture, but no stranger to dealing with the various predicaments of bona fide freaks and geeks), and what 9 out of 10 scripts would have gotten wrong, they get right. Instead of making Stitzer an unbelievable loser, they give us a portrait of someone we might know, or may even be. He is so likeable, that part of you wants him to stay a virgin forever. Stitzer’s co-workers David, Jay, and Cal (Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogen in absolutely hilarious performances) don’t think so. Once they catch wind of Andy’s stilted love life, they take it upon themselves to bring his 40-year drought to an end. Never mind that these three aren’t exactly Romeo material. One is hung up on an ex-girlfriend who has all but reported him to the police for being a stalker, the other cheats on his pregnant girlfriend so much that he forgets to take off his adulterous condom, and the last one is a serial pothead. The advice they offer Andy is enough to make any self-respecting woman shudder: zero in on drunk chicks, watch porn to figure out how to work a situation, and act a little bit like a jerk. That last piece of advice comes attached with what could easily be the best reference in a film this year: “Be like David Caruso in Jade.” If you know why that’s funny, you will love this movie. Without a little help from his friends, Stitzer meets Trish, played by Catherine Keener, who keeps turning in one gem of a performance after another. She is wonderful, and what makes her performance so great is that she shows her character recognizing what a nice catch Carell’s Stitzer really is, regardless of his oddities and inexperience. This is not only a movie where the geek gets the girl, but one in which the girl truly wants the geek. The movie is filled with memorable one-liners that will surely be quoted by college buddies for years to come (“I know you’re gay because…”). But it is also filled with insights ripped right from anyone and everyone’s adolescent experiences. I can tell you I saw myself in the movie, as when Andy chides himself aloud for acting like such an ignoramus. Finally, the last sequence of the movie seems to come out of left field, but the film has really been hinting Bollywood throughout with the multicultural supporting cast. Despite its virgin territory, here’s one movie that scores big. Gilbert  Screen formats: Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1; Full Screen 1.33:1
Number of discs: - 1 - Keepcase Packaging.
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