40-Year-Old Virgin, The (Blu-ray)

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Extras:

The annoying cardboard slipcase with the Velcro enhanced cover has thankfully been dropped for the less flashy Blu-ray release and once you get past that hump it becomes very quickly clear that the feature set of the Blu-ray release is identical to the previous HD-DVD release. The only minor difference in bonus materials is that whereas all HD-DVD players were able to enjoy the Picture-in-Picture experience afforded by U-Control, only those fortunate enough to own either a Playstation 3 or Profile 1.1 equipped player can watch the dynamic content included on the Blu-ray release. The PiP materials contained on this disc are comprised of some nice behind-the-scenes moments and interviews with the cast and crew. It may not offer anything new over the HD-DVD release, but it is good stuff. Don´t forget to find the dog sex scene in the PiP materials. It is funny.

A large number of stand alone features are contained on the BD-50 platter. A healthy twenty four Deleted Scenes (38:01) are contained on the disc. Many of them feature Commentary by Director / Co-Writer Judd Apatow and Actor / Co-Producer Seth Rogen. They may be played separately from three menu screens, or by selecting the "Play All" menu choice. This is simply a massive collection of deleted scenes and many of them are incredibly funny and would have been nice scenes in the film, but it was already 133 minutes long. Unfortunately, they are presented in 4:3 framed widescreen. A few feature that was not part of the former release is the Knocked Up Trailer (3:06) for the upcoming Universal comedy. This is a ´Red´ card trailer, complete with language and sexual references that are not found on the typical ´Green´ card PG trailers.

You Know How I Know You Are Gay (5:31) has an optional commentary with the same participants as the deleted scenes. This is an alternate version of a scene contained in the film. It is much longer and far funnier than the "I Know You Are Gay" scene contained in the film. Date-A-Palooza (9:18) is additional footage from the Data-a-Palooza scene and amps up the language and humor. This was downright crude and downright funny. Line-O-Rama (6:19) is more alternate takes of footage from the film, where crudeness is again pumped up. Funny stuff. Judd´s Video Diaries (20:44) is a collection of twelve days worth of video diaries from the director that begins on a Pre-Shoot Day and ends on Day 52. These may be played individually or collectively. This was a nice collection of behind-the-scenes footage that shows the humor of the film´s director. It isn´t meant to be taken seriously.

Auditions (7:33) is another collection of vignettes. This time they are focused on seven supporting actors´ auditions and may again be lumped together with a "Play All" option. Raw Footage (19:22) is a collection of outtakes, goofs, alternate takes and other scenes lumped together that was not contained in any of the previous collections. These were funny, but the sheer amount of footage not used in the film is beginning to get tedious. Rehearsals (5:12) is a collection of rehearsal scenes where the actors curse and work their way through the scenes in front of a whiteboard and in street clothes. The crudeness meter soars. More funny stuff.

The menu then scrolls to reveal a full screen of more features. First up is the Reel Comedy Roundtable (21:06). This finds the film´s director, producer and stars sitting around a table and discussing the film and their experiences. This was interesting, but the pure amount of supplements are beginning to become mind numbing. Another television feature is the Cinemax Final Cut: The 40 Year Old Virgin (12:43). This is one of those little promotional bumpers you see on Cinemax between films. It is a decent EPK feature. A 1970´s Sex-Ed Film (5:26) must have been thrown in because the filmmakers didn´t feel they had enough bonus materials, or they wanted to see how hard it is to fill up one of these amazing HD-30 discs. My Dinner With Stormy (2:08) is the shortest supplement on the disc and looks at Seth Rogan sitting down with the incredibly sexy porn star Stormy. This could have been longer. The Gag Reel (4:35) has me hoping for an end to this amazing amount of extras. If the previous outtakes and alternate versions weren´t enough; these are additional humorous bits. Waxing Doc (3:31) is behinds the scenes footage showing what Carell went through for the waxing scene. Scary.

Completing the lengthy number of supplements is the Unrated Feature Commentary with Director / Co-Writer Judd Apatow, Actor / Co-Writer Steve Carell and Cast. I remember this being omitted from the packaging of the HD-DVD release, but it was indeed on the disc and returns on both the packaging and the disc for the Blu-ray release. Corell and everybody else of this motley crew that features many members of the cast is extremely entertaining and this is a great commentary that earns its ´Unrated´ billing, but never fails to entertain. I had intended to only spot review the commentary track, but found myself listening to the entire film. This is one of the nicer Blu-ray releases and I was happy to see Universal left everything intact for the port to the format. It took an entire evening to watch the film and sit through the supplements. This commentary was just icing on the cake.

Closing Thoughts:
"The 40 Year Old Virgin" is a damn funny film. It is filled with sex jokes, harsh language and bare breasts. However, the finished film is nowhere near as crude and humorous as the supplements, which is really saying something. I fully enjoyed this film and felt that "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is one of the better comedies of the sex-comedy genre that has come around in many years. The new Blu-ray release featured a strong video presentation that is identical to the previous HD-DVD release. The sound is improved and the very strong array of supplements are all preserved. While this is essentially a twin to the older release, this is a very worthwhile purchase for those that either do not own the HD-DVD title or are looking to replace the dead format´s version. This is a funny film, but I honestly felt the bonus materials were just as entertaining as the feature presentation. I hope this crew sticks together and throws out another film in the feature. This is just a very good disc, even the second time around.

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