The 40 Year Old Virgin

I was completely confounded by the reviews that started to appear before the release of this film. When I first saw the title I was expecting a pathetic teen gross out comedy on par with Tomcats. But then positive reviews appeared in the most unlikely of places.

It turns out The 40 Year Old Virgin is a hoot. One of the funniest films I’ve seen all year, and a comedy that actually sustained the humour right ’til the end, a rarity in the genre (even the classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail gets tiresome after a while). Judd Apatow and Steve Carell (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) have crafted a fantastically funny film that has quite a sweet-natured core. The central romance between the radiant Caroline Keener (The Interpreter)and Carell is wonderfully touching, and the rest of the ensemble make sure the film never gets boring. The variation in casting (in terms of multiculturalism and age) works a treat, and everyone gets a chance to be funny.

The narrative kept upping the complexity a notch every ten minutes or so, and I loved the film all the more for it. Just when I thought it might run out of steam it revealed a new character, or a new complication. Sounds like a simple way to make a great comedy, yeah? But as everyone knows, it doesn’t always happen that way.

Yes there’s lots of crude language, but it’s witty and relevant at the same time. Even the most pathetic of premises – the titular character getting his chest waxed – is hilarious in the capable hands of the cast. I know there are a lot of readers who simply won’t believe me, and I can’t blame you, what with the surge of sub-par gross out comedies since There’s Something About Mary (anyone remember The Sweetest Thing?). This is a film that I wasn’t ashamed to enjoy, unlike Must Love Dogs, which I appreciated in defiance of its many, many flaws.

This is THE pleasant surprise of 2005 for me.