superb, hilarious, real

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2005)

saw a free screening of this awhile back and i have been doing my best to make sure it succeeds by telling everyone i know to go see it. i won't waste time telling the plot, all i knew going in was it was about a 40-year-old virgin and that's all you need to know too. i'd consider probably "wet hot American summer" to be the funniest movie i've ever seen, but this might actually be a close second. this has slightly less laughs total but is the rare comedy that is hilarious without being exaggerated at all. i think this is probably Judd Apatow's influence, as well as ditching the Wilsons/Will Farrell/Vince Vaughn/Ben Stiller. none of them has so much as a cameo and the movie is SO MUCH BETTER FOR IT. they are not the only working comedy actors today after all, was there a time when they didn't project the aura of guys sitting around congratulating each other all the time? didn't think so. Steve Carrell proves himself to be the gifted comic we all know he is from the daily show, but he's also a very good actor in the times when he's not playing funny. other than him the most famous people in this are probably Catherine Keener (actually sweet and likable in this movie) and Paul Rudd. they, and everyone else, seem to have been given a lot to do by Apatow but also the freedom to do it the way they want to do it. for example: Seth Rogen--the "fat kid" from freaks and geeks--is basically here to be the same sarcastic fat guy, but he piles on the personal touch in a way that is pretty much wholly unique, and still funny as hell. even the smallest characters (the other half of the lesbian couple from "best in show" that wasn't stifler's mom is incredible as the 4.y.o.v.'s boss) are given screen time that is almost insanely funny. but all of this with a bare minimum of toilet humor, nary a poop joke, and still the raunchiest thing i've seen in a theater in a long ass time. this movie could not be rated anything lower than R. i hope they don't cut a thing from the print i saw and judging from the lack of questionnaires at the end i doubt they will. so yeah, go see it. you won't be disappointed.