It’s funny how the mocking of a 40-year-old man, who has never had sexual intercourse with a woman, can be so amusing to an audience.
A comical film written in vulgar taste, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” still allows the viewer to find time to root for Andy Stitzer, the innocent hero of this end-of-summer release.
Steve Carell, best known for his roles on “The Daily Show,” “The Office” and “Anchorman,” adds a bona fide twist to an otherwise raunchy film. His character is a friendly guy, working at a Smart Tech store and living in his apartment complete with a large collection of action figures and comic books. He befriends three additional employees at the electronic superstore. David, Jay and Cal, played by Paul Rudd, Romany Malco and Seth Rogen respectively, spend the entire movie urging him to “do the deed.”
In one noteworthy scene, Stitzer is invited to play poker with the guys at the store after hours. Each man is relaying their dirtiest sex stories and when the spotlight stops on Stitzer, he makes up a relationship in which his girlfriend’s breast was the texture of a bag of sand. This causes the guys to doubt the story and it is then revealed that Stitzer is still a virgin. He rides his bike home from the store, bawling and cursing himself the entire way.
Taking Stitzer under their wing, his buddies take him to clubs, bookstores and even to a speed dating session to meet women. The friends also decide that Stitzer needs to get his chest waxed in preparation for the loss of his virginity.
On a mission to have sex, Stitzer meets an excessively drunk woman named Nicky who throws up on him and an overly sexual woman named Beth looking to please. After quite a few unsuccessful attempts to lose his virginity, he finds the perfect relationship-worthy woman. Trish, played by Catherine Keener, is a divorced mother of three and a grandmother of one who Stitzer meets while helping her pick out a VCR at his place of employment.
All this should lead to Stitzer and his buddies relief; however he and Trish make a mutual no-sex policy agreement for at least 20 dates.
The audience is left in suspense throughout the course of their dating and can’t help but hope that Stitzer, after 40 years, finally loses his virginity.
“The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” directed and co-written by Carell and first-time director Judd Apatow, is a laugh-out-loud film that keeps the audience entertained until the end. Although the film may be crude and off-the-wall, the viewer is forced to laugh at the characters and the predicaments they fall into.
The film succeeds at differentiating itself from other romantic comedies by refusing to become cheesy or trite near the end. The final scene is just as hilarious and engulfing as rest of the movie.
“The 40-Year-Old Virgin” opens nationwide July 19, 2005. It is rated R for sexual content, language and drug use.
