A vulgar riot

Rating: 8/10 (22 July 2012)

The 40 Year Old Virgin has a pretty self explanatory title. Steve Carell plays Andy, a nerdy recluse who has never had sex in his 40 years of living. When his coworkers find this out they set out to get Andy laid for the first time in his life. This, of course, isn't as easy as Andy and his coworkers anticipated and they all find themselves in wild and quirky situations along the way to losing virginity.
This is Judd Apatow's directorial debut and possibly his best and most hysterical film to date. It shows off his uncanny ability to tell an intriguing story and also pack it full of absurd, vulgar, and hilarious jokes. There is not a dull moment in The 40 Year Old Virgin. It's wall to wall laughs with every scenario getting wilder and funnier. Even clocking in at just under two hours, or two hours and 13 minutes if you watch the unrated version, the film is still funny and wildly entertaining from start to finish.
Apatow deserves a lot of credit for his directing and writing, but the actors in this film deserve just as much. The film is crammed with stars and the amount of cameos is brilliant. Some of the celebrity faces we see in this film weren't even big stars when the film was released, such as Mindy Kaling's cameo as an ex-girlfriend of Paul Rudd's character. In 2005 she was just beginning her role as Kelly on The Office, but today she's incredibly popular. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Steve Carell is obviously hilarious as Andy and the film would not be the same without him. But the star studded supporting cast is just as impressive. Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Jane Lynch, Leslie Mann, Elizabeth Banks, and a brief moment from Jonah Hill give this film comedic life all the way through. Much of the script was improvised on set, which produced hysterical results. This is a perfect cast to pull off this level of improvised hilarity and it gives the comedic stylings of this film a fresh and natural feeling which makes it all the more hilarious.
The 40 Year Old Virgin is modern comedic genius. It's unforgettably hilarious, incredibly quotable, and shockingly vulgar, but in a good way. It will probably always be the glimmering peak of Steve Carell's film career, even if it was so early on in that career. Apatow will probably never surpass this film in anything he writes, directs, or produces. The 40 Year Old Virgin is simply too funny.