Virgen a los 40

All right, here's the deal: if you're easily offended then you might want to stay far, far away from this one. There are some painfully funny moments in the movie, but I probably blushed about as much as I laughed. Actually, I probably blushed MORE than I laughed. And if I wasn't literally blushing on the outside, then I was blushing on the inside. If there is absolutely nothing in this movie that embarrasses you then you simply have no shame. Whether that's a badge of honor or not is in the eye of the beholder I suppose.

I will not deny that I laughed quite a bit, but this is a movie that I simply cannot give a blanket recommendation due to its subject matter. If I were to say, "This movie is hilarious, go check it out!" and some sweet, little old church-going lady heads to the theater and has a heart-attack during one of the graphically explicit sex situations, well, that's just something I don't need on my conscience.

So how raunchy is it? Hmm, try about 100 times worse than The Wedding Crashers. Honestly. My mom would've walked out during the first scene. I feel it's my duty to at least warn you of what to expect.

There is some cleverly intelligent comedy here, but that's what I come to expect from the man (Judd Apatow) who had a hand in both Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. I'm all for making fun of Michael McDonald; the only man whose hair and beard are white enough to give Kenny Rogers a run for his money. Paul Rudd proclaiming, "If I hear Ya Mo Be There one more time I'll Ya Mo burn this place down," is hilarious, but it's one of those things that the majority of the audience won't appreciate.

And when we see a quick 3-second flashback of Steve Carrell singing along to Cameo's Word Up, I laughed for a good two minutes after the joke was over, whereas most everybody chuckled and then forgot about it.

Strangely enough, despite the raunch, there's an admirable moral to the story. The movie doesn't portray Carrell as some freaky loser just because he's a virgin. He's really portrayed as a likable, admirable character. Sure, he's a little weird. After all, he has a framed Asia poster, "more videogames than an Asian kid," and a toy collection that features the Million Dollar Man's BOSS, but we're never led to believe that there's actually anything wrong with the fact that he's a virgin. As odd as it may seem, there's a bit of an "it's OK to wait" message.

But man, oh man, please be warned that this pushes its R rating about as far as it can go. That was certainly Apatow's intention. According to him, he just let some of the guys (particularly Rogen and Malco) improv and talk the way they normally talk, all in an effort to find lots of new ways to be dirty. If you can handle that or talk that way yourself, then you'll love the movie.

I'm not a big fan of excessive profanity and sex jokes. I find that subtle, clever humor is much more entertaining than about 200 uses of the f-word or fratboy sex discussions. But that's me. Like I said, there are some absolutely hysterical moments here, but you have to ask yourself if they're worth sitting through one of the most vulgar movies you're likely to ever see at the theater. I just don't know how interested most women will be in what's discussed by men while playing poker. Honestly ladies, you might not want to know. If you've ever been curious why some girls think guys are gross, well, this gives you a good idea.

There you go - my humble, honest take on what to expect. Be that your guide. It definitely should not be seen with your Sunday School class, mama, grandmama, any family members of the opposite sex, children of any age, or anybody who is easily offended by excessive profanity or explicit sex discussion. If you'd see it with any of the above then you apparently do not have any concept of what it means to be uncomfortable.

Steve Carell has made a career out of portraying the slightly odd straight guy, first on 'The Daily Show', and then in various supporting roles. In Virgin, Carell has found a clever and hilarious script that perfectly capitalizes on his strengths. Carell plays Andy Stitzer, a middle aged man living a quiet, lonely life. Andy is a little odd, but in an awkward nice guy sort of way. One night, while socializing with his co-workers for the first time, Andy accidentally reveals that he is a virgin. His co-workers, David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen) initially tease Andy about his situation. But it's clear that all three have a certain respect for the decent human being that Andy is, and they resolve to help him out by assisting him in ending his virginity. And so begins Andy's quest into adulthood. Andy is the quintessential innocent, and the bulk of the humor derives from his naiveté to the situations he finds himself in throughout the film. Some of the humor is crude gross out stuff, but most of it is just well done intelligent comedy. In addition, I found some parts of the film actually pretty touching as Andy finds himself developing both romantic relationships and friendships perhaps for the first time in his life. I'm not trying to portray the movie as a love story or a drama; it's a rolling in your seats comedy. Still, every good comedy I have ever seen contains enough heart for you to care about the characters. A good comparison would be 'The Wedding Crashers' from earlier this summer. Virgin has a similar humor, but is perhaps a bit more vulgar in some of its jokes. I particularly loved the ending of the film, which I thought was a perfect way to end the flick. Without giving anything away, it reminded me of 'Something About Mary'. Very light and fun; it leaves you laughing and smiling, which is exactly how you should feel when you finish a comedy. I would highly recommend.

Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) is hopelessly single at 40 working as a tech guy at an electronic store. He has no game with the ladies and no experience with sex. His co-workers David (Paul Rudd), Cal (Seth Rogen), and Jay (Romany Malco) reluctantly asks him to join their poker game. During the game, Andy let slip that he has never had sex. The guys make fun of him but then vows to get him laid. They give contradictory and generally bad advise. At a club, he goes home with Nicky (Leslie Mann) who is crazy drunk. Trish (Catherine Keener) comes into the store to buy a VCR. She has a storefront across the street selling other people's stuff on Ebay. Marla (Kat Dennings) is one of her kids. Cal tells him to keep asking questions to be mysterious and that works on bookstore clerk Beth (Elizabeth Banks).

There are a lot of awkward hilarity coming from this Judd Apatow comedy. Steve Carell especially with that haircut is perfect for the role. There is nothing more painfully funny than Kelly Clarkson. At its heart, Carell is an adorable dork. The other guys are almost as ridiculous. That is why this works so well. There are so many great comedians working with such a funny idea.

Andy Stitzer(Steve Carell) is a 40 year old virgin who is pushed by his friend to lose his virginity. During this crusade, Andy meets many women, but one woman named Trish(Catherine Keener) catches his eye more than the others.

Steve Carell shows us to be an absolute genius. His role is perfect for him and just plain "makes" the movie. The movie exceeded all expectations I could have had. The acting was great, the writing was wonderful, and the comedy could not have been any funnier for what it was. If you have seen The Office or Anchorman you would know how Steve Carell steals the show and this movie proves it more than ever. Overall, the movie is just fantastic and is the second best comedy of the year, falling short only of Wedding Crashers.

I highly recommend this movie.

It may feel overlong, sketchy, and familiar; but all this actually because of one single flaw, which is that the movie completely delivered itself to its message. Don't get me wrong, the message of the movie is one of its best merits (it's well-conveyed, and it makes the movie stand out from the rest of raunchy comedies). But when the plot ends up being completely driven by the moral of the story, you know that there is something wrong here. A lot of monotonous, stretched story-lines, and repetitive jokes made the movie feels as if it has overstayed its welcome. And I kept always wondering why a movie that felt so fresh and genuine, and also has a lot to say (considering its remaining running time and the almost flawless, extremely hilarious and intriguing first act and half of the second). I think I found the answer as the third act kicked off, which is to keep stretching the movie as much as it could until it reach the denouement, and hence delivers its message at the end. It ends up being pretty much a run-of-the-mill rom-com.

However, The 40-Year-Old Virgin completely deserves the cult status it has achieved. First and foremost, Judd Apatow pulled off a something seemingly impossible: a combination of a crude, gross-out comedy and a heartfelt, tender romantic comedy. While these two sub-genres didn't mix very well with each other, glimpses of each of both have managed to be consistent throughout the entire movie. That's largely due to the likable and unbelievably relatable protagonist, Andy, brought to life by an outstanding, star-making performance by Steve Carell, who revealed his massive talent, showing an impressive range he would latter become famous for.

All the secondary characters here have a reasonable depth that prove how this movie is really different from your typical gross-out comedy. They may be stereotypical after all, but the witty rude humor that came from them added an extra, and maybe interestingly contradictory, layer to all of them. I think all the performances are great, but Paul Rudd really stole the show.

Also the movie features a young Jonah Hill in a very funny cameo. I mean, what more could you ask for?

(7.5/10)