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THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN
By Rachel Deahl Review Film Critic Judd Apatow has always been skilled at presenting stories about the marginalized, rejected, almost pathetic social castes in our society.
The creative force behind the far too
short-lived TV show "Freaks and Geeks" and the less occult
more appealing "Undeclared," Apatow has demonstrated an
ability to show the humor in being an outcast, to create comedic
situations around characters who possess a humility and heroic nature
within their geeky selves.
In "The 40-Year-Old-Virgin" Apatow
once again shows his flair for making weirdo's into heroes. Managing to
build a comedy out of what should be a single gag, Apatow (who
co-writes, directs and co-produces) turns this celibacy fairy tale into
a winning story about how it's ok to be different.
Despite the clichéd message and the
sometimes-repetitive humor, "40-Year-Old Virgin" manages to do the most
surprising thing of all: Create a comedy about a character that exists
for more than furthering a punch line.
Starring as the titular loser former
"Daily Show" personality and current star of FOX's "The
Office" Steve Carell plays Andy, a bike riding
electronics store employee who's managed to make it into midlife without
ever having gotten laid.
After keeping to himself for what seems
decades-Andy's sole friends are his elderly upstairs neighbors and the
inanimate toy he collects-he's unwillingly pulled out of his shell when
he inadvertently befriends his co-workers.
And once his trio of new buddies-the
well-meaning and broken hearted David (Paul Rudd), the
pot-smoking Cal (Seth Rogen) and the ladies man Jay (Romany
Malco)-finds out their newest friend has never "done the deed," they
take it upon themselves to ensure he gets the job done.
Carell, who endures a number of humiliations at the hands of his buddies in the process, ranging from speed dating to chest waxing, wonderfully keeps Andy as a social misfit who nonetheless has a good heart. Keeping Andy's character away from a condemning label as a loser, the film not-so-subtly reveals the way our sex-obsessed culture makes us all lose perspective.
Though the film finally meanders into
familiar territory for a middling comedy-gags about the difference
between men and women and straight men and gay men-it keeps a
respectable and positive perspective about sex.
That said, "40-Year-Old Virgin" is
still a little light on laugh-out-loud scenarios. Viewers will finally
respect and adore Carell's clueless Andy, but in spite of this, the film
remains the kind of flick you'd rather have a one night stand with than
a lasting relationship.
Grade: B
MUST LOVE DOGS
Until now, Internet dating, as a topic, has yet to be significantly mined by romantic comedies. In this mostly winning respite about finding love a second time around, and doing so with the help of the World Wide Web, John Cusack and Diane Lane play two divorcees looking for a second chance at love. And, as all fairy tales go, they find it.
Despite flirtations the genre has had
with email love affairs-the AOL catch phrase touting Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan
affair "You've Got Mail" being the most notable-few romantic comedies
have explored the potential hilarity, and insanity, that comes along
with the latest dating craze.
Since Internet dating is no longer
perceived as an activity for the socially marginal-i.e. stalkers and
guys over 40 who still live in their mom's basement-it seems rather
apropos that a light fairy tale about meeting Mr. Right take on the
subject. "Must Love Dogs" is just that film.
Lane, who stars as a recently divorced
elementary school teacher named Sarah, is reluctantly dragged back into
the dating world by her nosy siblings (which, as the child of a large
Irish family, there are many of).
The barrage, which is led by the older
sister (played by Elizabeth Perkins), takes the form of advice,
verbal jibes and the occasional forcible prodding. When the family posts
Laura's profile online-using a photo from her high school graduation and
the seemingly sweet restriction that interested bachelors "must love
dogs"-the 40+ single is inundated with suitors.
The most promising of them is a craftsman
named Jake, played by John Cusack (as a toned-down, aging version
of Lloyd Dobler, the sweet, over-talkative heartthrob he played in "Say
Anything").
Throughout the expected foibles ensue
(crying dates, guys with terrible toupees) and some surprising ones
(Sarah unexpectedly answers her father's own personal ad), "Must Love
Dogs" is a mostly amusing and hopeful take on love and the potential
that new technologies hold for finding it.
Though the film concentrates too much on
the more obvious surface pitfalls of Internet dating (namely, that
people do a lot of false advertising about everything from their age to
their body type) and overlooks the more subtle ones (namely the danger
and fun in having 24-hour access to a world of people we might never
otherwise meet), it does so with humor and spunk.
Perkins and Christopher Plummer
(playing Sarah's poetry-reading, exuberant widowed father) do wonderful
jobs in their supporting roles, as each is armed with a number of
wonderful lines.
And for their part, Cusack and Lane show the expected chemistry to drive this amenable story to its expected end. Grade: B+ |
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