The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) or, Let the Sunshine In

7/12/2013

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) or, Let the Sunshine In

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Debut Movie of the Year + Best Comedy of the Year

What happens if it just never happens? That is the question in Judd Apatow's The 40 Year-Old Virgin

40 year-old Andy owns toy figures for upwards of 100,000 $, works in an electronic store (which he rides his bicycle to), - and is still a virgin.

Thank God, this movie is not as stupid as the title could lead you to believe. It is not a dumb package of frat boy humor, crazy comedy or a tacky sex comedy. In truth, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a loving, very funny and intelligent romantic comedy, (which, however, might appeal more to men than women in general.)
Some of the funniest comedians of today are in it: Feature-debuting New Yorker master writer-director Judd Apatow (Trainwreck (2015)) regulars like Seth Rogen (The Night Before (2015)), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man (2015)) and Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann (This Is 40 (2012)), but also Jane Lynch (Paul (2011)) is hilarious as the extremely foul-mouthed store manager, and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)) also has a very fun tidbit in the film.
Star and co-writer Steve Carell (Curly Sue (1991)) plays the protagonist Andy like a real human being, and he makes the film moving and (more) real, as he courts the lovely Catherine Keener (Into the Wild (2007)).
A few scenes in the film go on for too long for my taste, SPOILER especially the gross chest hair removal scene. SPOILER The Hair (1979) 'homage' during the end credits, on the other hand, is outrageously funny and surprising, a great feel-good final few minutes for a VERY funny movie.

Related posts:

Judd Apatow: Trainwreck (2015) - Amy Schumer's breakthrough is a lot of fun
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Bridesmaids (2011) - Subversive comedy with laughs a-plenty (producer)

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The Cable Guy (1996) - Stiller's dark comedy is a riot (producer)

If nothing in the trailer for the film here makes you laugh, The 40-Year-Old Virgin might not be for you

Cost: 26 mil. $
Box office: 177.3 mil. $
= Huge hit (returns 6.81 times the cost)
[The 40 Year-Old Virgin premiered 11 August (Los Angeles, California) and runs 116 minutes. Filming took place in LA and Pasadena, California around January 2005. The shoot reportedly involved lots of improvisation and used over 1 mil. feet of film, prompting Technicolor to send free Champagne to the set. The film opened #1 with a 21.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America and spent another 4 weeks in the top 5 (#1-#2-#2-#4), grossing 109.4 mil. $ (61.7 % of the total gross), and becoming the 19th highest-grossing film in North America of the year. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 13.5 mil. $ (7.6 %) and Germany with 7.5 mil. $ (4.2 %). Apatow returned with Knocked Up (2007). Carell returned in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). The 40 Year-Old Virgin is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The 40 Year-Old Virgin?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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7/12/2013

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) or, Let the Sunshine In

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