Steve Carell

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2006)

Just reading the title you know that this movie will depend heavily on comedy based in embarrassment. The embarrassment of being 40 years old without having done the business, as well as the embarrassment of trying at that age. In the worst case scenario this could have been awful, it could have been degrading in a way that makes me at least turn off the TV. This is luckily not the worst case.
I have to admit right away that i for some reason like Steve Carell. His whole appearance is just amazing. Seeing him finally outside the newscaster-role is great. You might say "But he was already in The Office". Then i say: i wouldn't watch that crap even if i was paid to. There is only one boss in "The Office" and that's Ricky Gervais. Anyway, i got sidetracked. Let's get on with it.
Carell lends a certain warmth to his character here. He's not such a bad guy. He's just an insecure man who lives his life pretty much alone in the same way he has since he was fifteen years old. He collects action figures, plays video games and watches movies. He seldom goes out and never ever meets women. Basically he's the man most guys could have been if they hadn't met that first girlfriend. Which makes him human, and also it makes us pity him and feel for him when he goes through his embarrassing stages on the road to getting laid.
The jokes and comedy in this movie is of a shifting quality. There are moments that are intensely funny and there are also many sly remarks that are great. The most fun are Carells work-buddies who make it the purpose of their lives to get him laid. And even though it becomes too much sometimes and they overstep the line, it never becomes truly disgusting or repulsive. Which is a feat considering the subject.
Steve Carell makes this movie worth a five, his buddies makes it worth a six, and the fact that it's a movie about sex that doesn't end in a disgustingly cute way it's worth a seven. It's a laugh and sometimes that's all you need.