40-Year-Old Virgin, The (DVD)

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Andy is a wonderful man. He´s sweet, he´s innocent, he´s a mama´s boy… and he desperately needs to get laid. At least that´s what his friends think. After a night of drinking and hot, vulgar talk the fact that our protagonist hasn´t known a woman (in the Biblical sense… or any other, really) during the 40 years he´s resided on this Earth. They make it their mission to school Andy in the ways of the woman.

I´m of a mixed mind about the message this film presents. At first I was turned off by its vulgarity and the casual way that sex was approached. To the characters that inhabit this film, sex was nothing more than a physical act. It seemed like the emotional component was eschewed in favor of making sex an animal act that everyone should wantonly participate in. By ostracizing Andy for his inexperience, I felt like the movie was picking on people who choose abstinence.

Slowly, the tone of the film and its focus shifts. It´s a gradual change that the casual viewer might not even notice. But suddenly those people who were confident about sex and sexuality seem more and more screwed up, while Andy´s perspective become the sane one. By abstaining from sex, he has avoided all the pain that sexuality can bring. That makes his climax (to be punny) far more satisfying.

Steve Carrell (who also co-wrote the picture) is excellent playing the sweet, if reserved and nerdy virgin Andy. He´s able to pull off the role without falling into too many stereotypes. The story makes it clear that Andy isn´t a virgin by choice, he has had some opportunities (and relationships) that went so horribly sour that he simply gave up on sexual congress. And while the movie may take a mocking view of him at first, he´s completely vindicated by the film´s conclusion.

The supporting cast is filled with cameos of B-list celebrities and familiar faces from creator Judd Apatow´s television work (Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared). Most of the characters serve the purpose of facilitating a joke (generally either overtly sexual or racial) and little beyond that. It´s not easy to write a good group dynamic that rounds out the characters, particularly in the workplace. "Empire Records" did it wonderfully, as did "Office Space." The workers who fill out "Smart Tech," the Circuit City knock-off where Andy is employed are little more than stock characters.

Except for Seth Rogan´s Cal. You might remember Rogan from his roles as the photog in "Anchorman," and as Ken on the amazing-yet-short-lived "Freaks and Geeks." He takes a character that could easily fall as a crude, strong-backed hired hand and gives him a nice soul. He may seem tough, but he´s just as fragile as everyone else. We´re not talking Oscar-caliber, but he does add a lot to the film.

But, this is a comedy; is it funny? Yes, but you´ll have to have a certain perspective and sense of humor to really get it. Most of the things I found funny came from awkward situations (of which there were many) and unexpected, generally uncouth, dialogue. The film runs a little long, at two and a quarter hours, but it never loses steam. Its episodic nature detracts from the narrative crescendo but the general themes of the film pull the viewer through its entire run-time.