The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 comedy directed by Judd Apatow and starring Steve Carell as Andy Stitzer, a guy who has spent his entire adult life without ever having sex. When his co-workers find out, they make it their personal mission to help him “do the deed.” The film launched Carell to stardom and marked Apatow’s directorial debut, kicking off a run of successful comedies.

Andy works in the stockroom at SmartTech and spends his free time collecting action figures and playing video games. His coworkers David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen) invite him to poker night, learn his secret, and badger him into one misadventure after another. Eventually, he starts dating a single mother named Trish (Catherine Keener), and the two agree to wait until their twentieth date to get physical, much to Andy’s relief.

These days, sex shows up almost everywhere, and some might argue this film glorifies the need for it and suggests that if you aren’t getting any, you’re worth nothing. The film actually makes the opposite point. It’s about self-respect and love, and about figuring out who you are and accepting what’s there. Andy starts out looking for sex, but it quickly becomes about earning the trust of someone special. The film is extremely raunchy and vulgar, but at its core is a much warmer and more sincere message.

Steve Carell is best known as Michael Scott on NBC’s The Office, and his work here is just as painfully funny, only a tad raunchier. What sets Andy apart from the other characters is his sincerity. When his friends push him toward bravado, Carell plays Andy’s embarrassment so honestly that you end up rooting for him instead of laughing at him. The chest-waxing scene is the best example. It’s agonizing and hilarious, but it works because Andy’s panic feels real.

Carell and Catherine Keener have fantastic chemistry that gives the story real depth and lifts it above standard comedy fare. Their characters feel so realistic that it’s hard to imagine them with anyone else. The movie does stumble when Andy and Trish’s relationship gets too goofy, especially in the stretch where the two of them go through yet another awkward misunderstanding, but these moments are brief and don’t linger.

The supporting cast is great on their own. Rudd, Malco, and Rogen could carry the movie by themselves, and their poker-night banter is where much of its comedy comes from. Each of them gets some of the film’s most quotable lines, and their ridiculous advice makes Andy’s sincerity stand out even more. There are also plenty of cameos from other comedians and stars, including Jonah Hill, David Koechner, and Kevin Hart.

The worst thing about the film is its length. At just under two hours, the middle sags a bit as the dating subplot repeats itself, and it feels more stretched than it needs to be. Still, with a script this funny, the runtime is more of a minor inconvenience than a real flaw.

VERDICT

What sets the film apart from other comedies is not only the number of laughs, but the sweet moments scattered throughout. It also set the template for the Apatow comedies that followed, mixing crude humor with real feeling, and it holds up as one of the best examples. Despite an overlong runtime, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a great film that offers laughs, likable characters, and a story with real heart.