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Film review

Carell scores in '40-Year-Old Virgin'

The perennial second banana should come into his own limelight with this performance, a tour de force of nerdiness triumphing hilariously and sweetly.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published August 18, 2005

Solid adult comedy in American cinema is as tough to locate as a 40-year-old virgin. Finding both rarities in the same movie adds a new dimension to the term "getting lucky."

Moviegoers are indeed fortunate that we've hit the jackpot twice in one summer. The undersexed teenagers from Porky's and American Pie would kill for that kind of success rate. First came the wedding (crashers), and now comes the consummation, compliments of the funniest man in show business who isn't a star yet. But Steve Carell will be, and soon.

Carell should savor his last remaining days as a relatively unknown comic. People will never again expect anything less than his superb work as co-writer and star of The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Hilariously ordinary, Carell has played second banana to some of the best, as Jon Stewart's chief correspondent on The Daily Show, a foil to Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty and an accomplice to Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Now with the underrated sitcom The Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Carell is poised to join their ranks at the top of the stalk. Those of us who spotted his uniquely neurotic style early can enjoy a satisfied feeling of "I told you so."

The 40-Year-Old Virgin could be a one-joke premise, but Carell and co-writer/director Judd Apatow are much smarter than that. This is a movie about romance cloaked in piggish male attitudes about sex. Sometimes it's difficult to know whether we're embarrassed by the raunchy jokes or the human nature truths behind them. Wedding Crashers accomplished the same thing from an opposite direction; sexist studs realizing the wrongs of their ways. Carell's movie is sweeter but equally tart, focused on a nerd gaining much more than the first notch on his bedpost.

Carell plays Andy Stitzer, someone who spent his life blending into the background. His apartment is a shrine to geekdom, stuffed with pop culture collectibles and electronic solitaire games. Is his lifestyle a reflection of celibacy or a result of it? Such subtle touches are what separates The 40-Year-Old Virgin from other dirty jokes.

Andy's co-workers at an electronics store pledge to do something about his virginity. Not that they're experts. David (Paul Rudd) hasn't rebounded from his last lover, Jay (Romany Malco) cheats on his, and Cal (Seth Rogen) never bothered with one after a string of quickies. The chemistry among this quartet is flawless, something like the Ya-Ya sisterhood running on testosterone. Their hearts are located somewhere below their belts, beatingloudly, clearly and humorously.

After a string of frightening close calls, Andy meets Trish Piedmont (Catherine Keener), a middle-aged grandmother who has lived through the sex stuff and now wants some simple affection. That's all Andy ever had in mind, minus the sex stuff, of course. Since this is a movie, it's easy to guess what happens. The route to that conclusion, however, is surprisingly touching, and for the most part believable.

The only glaring fault in The 40-Year-Old Virgin is the filmmakers having too many good ideas for handling the topic, resulting in a movie about 20 minutes too long. But what would you cut out? Andy's masochistic chest-waxing experience, his clumsy flirtations and his romantic approach to masturbation are so funny that we don't realize they're padded until the movie ends. The finale stretches over several minutes and is worth every single one. You can't really get too much of a good thing when it's this good.

Personally, I could watch Carell for hours. He's an everyman without much in common with anyone, his blank expression suggesting he's taking in everything and comprehending none of it. Few comedians can make a hesitating delivery so appealing, or locate the pathos underneath the jokes so easily. By the end of the movie, we're not only watching Andy losing his virginity, but Carell losing his identity as merely the funny guy in the background. A star is born, but under these circumstances it may have been an immaculate conception.

Grade: A-

Director: Judd Apatow

Cast: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch

Screenplay: Judd Apatow, Steve Carell

Rating: R; strong profanity, sexual situations, brief nudity, crude humor

Running time: 115 min.

[Last modified August 17, 2005, 12:54:04]