40 ans: mode d'emploi

First and foremost, this is the first movie I have seen in years that actually has something to do with my life. I read through the threads, and I wasn't surprised that people found it depressing. They were probably expecting to see Knocked Up or I Love You Man. It lacks the stoner cool single guys being all zany about porn. Instead the comedy comes from things that forty somethings deal with: mortgage, kids, hormones, diet, expectations, etc. I rarely get to see a movie about people my age or having problems and solutions that don't involve guns, drugs, superheroes, cartoon birds, and people who have 8 figure life styles without ever having a job. Okay, so he's a groovy record co. guy, and she has a chic boutique.... Definitely way more California than my life, but still it is pretty real to life. I will concede that there are some gags that don't quite work, but like I said: I'm stickin' up for this one because I think it is getting a bad rap based on expectations. Thanks to Judd Apatow for making a movie about life instead of (hip jobs aside) hyper-situational life.

A good rule of thumb is any movie where Jason Segal has the funnier lines probably shouldn't have been made. This seemingly endless stream of hormonal tirades was difficult to say the least. Leslie Mann pulled this off once in Knocked Up. Which was a delightful film by comparison. But in This is 40 I could not find one sympathetic thing about her character or any of the characters for that matter. Part of the problem is KnockedUp was made before this basic cast was in every other film that came out. I kept waiting for Jonah Hill to happen by and suck up what little oxygen Leslie Mann hadn't already used. I am a fan of Judd Apatow. He's a comedy geek's comedy geek. Hence the casting of the brilliant veteran comedy writer Robert Smigel as the buddy of Pete. So I settled in to watch and see what Smigel could do as an actor. But he had two scenes in this nearly two and a half hour film. Guess they cut some of his scenes to make room for some more where Leslie Mann gets angry over nothing and curses and screams for half an hour. I was also excited to see Jim Brooks as Pete's father. He receives lots of screen time and is the second least sympathetic character. I do admire Apatow for having the courage to try and combine work and home by just putting his family on screen. But why so mundane? It's compelling when a film depicts regular people in not so regular situations. This film is made up of regular people who live in southern California and drive BMW's and Lexi and complain constantly about things that happen to everyone. It's exhausting. I will not give any attention to the children in this review as it is clear that they have received far too much attention already. On a strictly "laugh o meter" scale this film is not completely devoid of humor. Like say, Funny People. In fact, Funny People makes This is 40 look like The Jerk. Paul Rudd does fine as usual,and Megan Fox is great eye candy and "hottie relief". Here's hoping that this is the end of Apatow's tacky Cassavetes period.

This movie has its moments, but overall its ruined by being overly long and tons of tired foul language. Highlights include the scene with Melissa McCarthy where her language is perfect, most any scene with the two actresses playing the two daughters and the Asian actress who plays one of the lead's employees. Worth a view for sure, but sad as it could have easily been a 10.

I've read the other reviews. Yes there are fart jokes and too many Apple products. Yes, the the people are arrogant and self centered and broken. Yes, Judd Apatow put his entire family in yet another movie. Yes, there is not plot and the story is kind of depressing and all over the place and there really isn't much reason to show Debbie's shop except to show Megan Fox in a bra... but if you like crude humor, this movie is exceptional at it.

I have not laughed so much and so hard in a long time. This is a great movie about funny people dealing with life's serious things with lots of crude disgusting humor and it was awesome.

While I'm in my 40s I am single and childless but I hear enough stories from people around me (same age, middle class Californians) to know this movie is actually touching on what are real world situations for some people. So I didn't feel like there was much overdramatization as most critics point out. I also didn't feel like it was too long as I did enjoy the story, dialogues, etc. So I didn't think it felt drawn out. At the end of the day, most of the jokes work, plot and characters are engaging, and so there is enough to enjoy despite having nothing extremely original to rave about.