FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Andy is your typically antisocial, comic book and action figure collecting, tech-job geek. Thus, he hasn’t ever had sex. It’s not that he hasn’t tried. He did back then. But he’s just basically given up by now. Once his co-workers catch wind of his supposed plight, they set out on a mission to get Andy laid. Along the road, Andy meets a shop owner named Trish that he really likes and wants to start a relationship, but he doesn’t want to blow it by being a virgin and disappointing her. This could get messy…it’s been pent up for a while.

Not too long ago, I wrote my review for “Wedding Crashers.” In it, I said, “This is the film I wanted ‘Meet the Parents’ to be” and that it will be “probably going to end up being the funniest comedy of the year.” Well…this is the movie I wanted “Wedding Crashers” to be. That’s how good and non-stop hilarious “The 40 Year Old Virgin” actually is. The downtime of the previous titleholder is virtually non-existent here. Sure there is a romantic story that won’t always have laughs, but at least there isn’t a twenty minute gap with boring bike riding or awkward lead character breakdowns.

The cast and characters are perfectly assembled. What makes it so good is that the whole group of guys is out of their minds, yet they feel compelled to give advice and pretend they’re as sane as Andy. Paul Rudd shows great comedic chops once again (“Wet Hot American Summer,” “Anchorman”) as an understatedly psychotic lovelorn man. Seth Rogen (from writer/director Judd Apatow’s TV series “Undeclared” and “Freaks and Geeks”) plays the grounded yet misguided Cal. Romany Malco (TV series “Weeds”) is the overly confident, player wannabe black guy. These people clearly have their own problems to worry about, but they mistakenly divert their attention to a situation that only they perceive as a problem.

But the real star of the show is Steve Carell (co-writer with Apatow) who, between movies “Bruce Almighty” and “Anchorman” and TV shows “The Daily Show” and “The Office,” has quickly shown his range and great comedic abilities. And he also proves that he doesn’t have to ride on the coattails of Will Ferrell in order to be successful (“Anchorman,” “Melinda and Melinda,” “Bewitched”). He has a very Steve Martin quality to him in his versatility and charm. He can go from wild, yelling rambunctious behavior to very mellow laid-back delivery.

I can’t imagine a funnier movie coming out this year. I’ve grown so jaded when it comes to comedies, that rarely do I laugh with the audience. This is one of the exceptions. Apatow and Carell do a great job of avoiding conventions and really keeping the laughs coming. There were some potentially drab, obvious scenes that surprisingly flourish such as the speed dating scene and the hair removal fiasco. The ingenuity of the cast and writers kept this film alive and don’t limit their creative juices to the titular premise. If I could say anything bad about the film, it’s that I doubt a 40 year-old virgin would really be so accepting of their schemes and of socializing in general, especially if he’s not as desperate as he claims. The movie is a little long, but you won’t feel that. You’ll only feel your sides hurting from laughing so much.

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