Movie Review

Just in time for the weekend I decided to write up a review for The 40 Year Old Virgin, which I saw earlier this week. That is, until I read this week's Real Detroit Weekly and saw that Keith Dusenberry had already put most of my thoughts in print. Here's his review of the movie:

How much did you like Anchorman? Your answer to this question is directly proportional to your likelihood of enjoying Virgin. To be fully accurate, there needs to be a slight adjustment to this formula: Virgin has no Will Ferrell, though it certainly feels like a movie he could have been in. Instead, Virgin features a bunch of the supporting Anchorman cast members, including The Daily Show’s Steve Carell. His role as a 40-year-old who has never had sex does not drastically push his acting skills beyond those Carell regularly utilized to portray a fake news reporter … or for that matter, Produce Pete. He’s awkward, naïve, trying too hard to seem cool and generally pretty funny. There are lots of jokes in the 5-to-7 range (on a 10 scale), but they come steadily enough to make this movie seem funnier than it really is — and though the 8's and 9's are fewer, they are well-placed and laugh-out-loud funny. The pacing drags in the film’s final third — Virgin would benefit by having about 25 minutes shaved from its nearly two-hour runtime. Still, it’s funny, brainless and enjoyable.

Now to tell you the truth I really didn't like Anchorman, but I did enjoy 40 Year Old Virgin. Anchorman seemed to go overboard to force the punchlines, where most of the jokes in this movie flowed very well. I'm a little disappointed that most of my friends haven't seen it yet because there are many lines from the movie I'd love to quote, but no one would get except for Jen. All in all I give this movie a thumbs up and would be open to seeing it again with a group of friends.