Carrel shines in raunchy comedy

Rating: 7/10 (15 August 2005)

Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell, "Bewitched," "Anchorman," "The Daily Show") has just turned 40, but despite having a decent job (he's a stock supervisor at an electronics store), being nice and having an apartment filled with comic books and collectible action figures, he has never been all the way with a woman.
And while this doesn't really bother him, it ticks off his moron friends, David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco) and Cal (Seth Rogen), who take matters into their own hands. Their revulsion of his situation makes him feel worse than ever. It speaks volumes about our society as a whole that they try to get him to have intimate relations rather than just find someone nice for him, but hey, that's Hollywood.
Their efforts on his behalf, however, end in disaster. Intoxicated women throw up on him and his own attempts to be cool and suave come out just as bad.
Anyway, despite profane talk, sexual situations, some comic drug use scenes and a little lag time (they could have cut at least 10 minutes), Andy comes to the conclusion that he isn't such a freak, while his buddies eventually re-evaluate their relationship with women.
Carrel, as the goofy man-child, shines here, going from vulnerable to sarcastic to frustrated while trying to please everyone but himself. As a co-screenwriter (with first-time director Judd Apatow, producer of "Anchorman," "Kicking & Screaming" and TV's "Freaks And Geeks") Carrel is a young, dry Bill Murray with hang-dog expression and wide eyes. His efforts to woo women go from hilarious to pathetic (I mean how far can you get when your only mode of transportation is a Schwinn bicycle?!).
Also excelling is Catherine Keener ("Being John Malkovich") as Trish, the first steady girl in Andy's life. All is not perfect in this relationship - she has three children and one grandchild - but it's a firm base for him to build a solid foundation on.
In the R-rated comedy vain of The "Wedding Crashers" and "American Pie," sex  if done right  can be pretty funny. In fact, there's a decent line every minute or so, and that's not a bad average. But you'll find that out for yourself when you see this little gem of a release from Universal Studios.