The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)

 “[to a shirtless Andy, who has an incredibly hairy chest] I love your sweater. Does that come in a V-neck? ” – David

Number of Times Seen – at least 5 times (Cable, DVD, 28 Jun 2008 and 14 Jul 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A group of salesmen try to help their 40 year old colleague find a woman to sleep with since he has never been intimate with a woman.

My Take on it – This is a movie that I can watch over and over because it is hilariously funny.

Before he made this movie, Steve Carell wasn’t really a household name, but his first film collaboration with Judd Apatow changed all that.

The script is perfect because it managed to properly manage the humorous and serious sides of this story.

The rest of the cast is also amazingly chosen and most would continue to collaborate with Apatow to this very day.  Paul Rudd, Seth Rogan , Leslie Mann (Mrs. Judd Apatow), Elisabeth Banks, Romany Malco and Jane Lynch are all superb here and it’s hard (not impossible) to imagine anyone else in any of those roles.

Catherine Keener is also great as Trish and she and Carell have amazing chemistry together.

Of all of Apatow’s films, I think this is his best because he set the bar so high with this one that he just hasn’t been able to match it; he was able to create an almost perfect tone, humor and easily migrated between seriousness and humorous throughout without missing a beat.

So many amazing scenes, but the waxing one will go down as being one of the most terrifying and funny one from this film.

Bottom Line – Excellent cast and script makes this so much fun to watch every time. Apatow really choose the right group of actors to play these characters because they all seem perfectly cast. This is perhaps Apatow’s best film to date because of the tone, the humor and of course the way the plot moves along in both a serious and funny way.  This is the film that made Carell a household name! Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The scene where Andy has his chest hair removed required five cameras set up for the shot. Star Steve Carell’s chest hair was actually ripped out in the scene. The actor had told director Judd Apatow just before shooting the scene: “It has to be real. It won’t be as funny if it’s mocked up or if it’s special effect. You have to see that this is really happening.” The scene had to be done in one shot.  (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

_______________________________________

Check out my *updated* movie stats here

To see my reviews of Oscar Winning Performances check out this link

To see my reviews of all Oscar Best Picture Winners click here (now complete)

Here is a link to my movie index A-Z