40 días y 40 noches

I went to the movies with a friend, and this was the only film we could agree on. I had pretty low expectations to begin with, so I can't really say I was disappointed, but "40 Days..." didn't really leave any lasting impression on me. It's a bland film - it does create a few laughs - but all in all, it's a pretty forgettable affair.

The best thing this film has going for it, is the nice on-screen chemistry between the two leads. Both Josh Hartnett and newcomer Shannyn Sossamon do well with their characters - or at least as well as the juvenile script allows them. The funniest moments in the film were the condom scene at the beginning, dinner with the parents and the "examination" of Matt's sheets. It's also nice to see a Hollywood movie that doesn't drag on beyond the two hour point. "40 Days..." clocks in at a pleasant 94 minutes, which feels just about right.

All in all, it's a mildly enjoyable film, but nothing memorable. I'll rate it 3 out of 6 on my dice.

I doubt it.

Someone who wants to have sex but is somehow thwarted; now THAT'S funny ... well, potentially funny. Someone who wants NOT to have sex but is somehow coerced into doing so; that's NOT funny.

-Actually, very frequently it IS funny, but under conditions that don't hold here. The man who simply wants to read a book or work on his woodcarving but has an insatiable spouse; that can be amusing. The man who for obscure "because it's in the script, that's why" reasons gives up sex for Lent … well, whatever. If the film wants to ignore this tepid premise and tell jokes about, say, badminton, that could work. But the sex that's been renounced is something we never hear the end of. It's like listening to someone say, "No thanks, I don't want any sugar in my coffee," six hundred and fifty times.

How long is this guy doing without, anyway? Forty days; a little over a month. Please. Most of us spend, give or take, the first five THOUSAND days of our lives without sex (and it's only so few if you accept the film's extended definition). How hard can it be?

Not a single player in the story has a brain, and the central character is in addition one of the wettest schmendricks ever to be pushed forward as a romantic lead.

After his girlfriend dumps him Matt goes through a lot of meaningless sex that makes him feel bad,so in order to give himself time to recover he decides to give up sex and anything to do with sex for Lent.

I liked the idea, but the movie ended up being a disappointment.

Josh Hartnett is pretty bad in this movie. I can't think of any other movies with him, but considering that I know his name he did a few, so he might be a good actor. But this movie really doesn't show it. I wonder if he even knew it was a comedy, because he sure didn't act as if he did.

Actually besides having a more or less original idea for a romantic comedy the movie didn't go too far from it. The joke was pretty much the same all through 90 minutes. And it was also stupid. It was the kind of sentiment I would expect for a teen movie, but the characters in this one were in their 20's, the whole "omg the poor guy can't live without sex" thing is just dumb. And this is what the whole movie was about, exaggerated and annoying.

Also, while I think sex themed comedies can be very funny. Only this one was trying to be romantic, and this is what made her sexual theme fail. Some of the jokes were off, and seemed more vulgar than funny for the genre. Actually the only time I laughed was at the Bagel Boy.

The story was not well thought through. It makes no sense whatsoever to me why Erica was mad at Matt about the whole abstinence thing. It's not like he decided not to have sex ever again in his life, or that it was a personal insult to her or that he was supposed to tell everything about himself on one date only. Silly. Same as the ending. I don't want to spoil, but what happened with Nicole was in no way funny. And it was also pretty unnecessary, one could have done it better without it.

Josh Hartnett is a good looking kid who does not use his looks to put up a wall between him and the audience in this movie. He seems very human and sweet. This helps in a lot in this movie because he's the 'sex object' who is not getting any, and you don't mind not seeing him 'add another notch to the bedpost.'

Since all of his conquests make him feel bad or doomed for unhappiness, Matt (Hartnett) feels he must take drastic action by not giving in to any sexual urges.

He becomes the subject of an intense office pool and some of the girls who had bet on a specific day he would 'cave in' make moves on him. A website is dedicated to him and he is soon referred to as 'Vow Boy.'

The movie has a lot of laughs. A couple of scenes seem retundant and a couple don't belong at all, but for the most part this is pleasant enough entertainment. Josh gets some big laughs, more than anyone else, but his roommate and his boss get some too. Josh has some good chemistry with Shannyn Sossamon who plays Erica. 7/10.

For many women, giving up sex for 40 days isn't that big a deal, whereas for men with healthy libidos and plenty of offers it is a major psychological undertaking. That's the story behind this better than average adult comedy. Matt originally tries the idea for Lent in a last ditch attempt to get former `love-of-his-life', Nicole, out of his head after screwing everything in the trendy San Francisco dot.com world has failed to alleviate his emotional needs. Swearing off sex includes giving up sex, fondling, kissing and even masturbation. This means he actually starts communicating with women (one woman in particular) on another level than purely physical and falls in love again. Within this rather limited comic milieu, various ideas are played out fairly well women's use of sex to manipulate men features not only in the frantic attempts of his female colleagues (who, with the rest of the office, have placed bets on `how long he will last'), but also in the cynically exposed persona of Nicole. You have to give the film plenty of leeway in credibility terms the story has lots of far fetched aspects but so does lots of good comedy, and the love-it-or-hate-it script either completely justifies it for you or makes you wish you had such problems to faintly believe in them. If you were offended by `There's Something About Mary', don't go and see it. Of course, I've written this from a British point of view - Americans have had more exposure to the "abstinence" movement that we have thankfully been spared so far - they make get the jokes differently or take some meaning from the film that either isn't or shouldn't be there! (Apologies to discerning American filmgoers to whom this doesn't apply!)