Painfully noughties at times but a hoot nonetheless

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2020)

Watching a classic comedy from 15 years ago for the first time is always a bit risky. Does the humour hold up? Is it going to be wildly offensive? Am I going to understand any of the references? Despite falling into a couple of these traps, The 40 Year Old Virgin is pretty damn funny and holds up well for the most part. The underlying concept is ingenious and has so much comedy potential, which was utilised really well.
First of all the cast. You really can't go wrong with Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan. All fantastic comedic actors with spot on performances. The chemistry between them was great, they embodied their characters excellently and were the main attraction of the film for me. Catherine Keener was a great opposite for Carrell, and the story between them was quite charming. The support cast were also all fantastic, with Jane Lynch providing some of my favourite dialogue.
Moving on to the humour... this film is so noughties sometimes it hurts. If we're being honest some of the humour hasn't aged too well. A lot of it wouldn't wind up in a film in this day and age and with good reason, but there are so many parts that really do stand the test of time. "KELLY CLARKSON" will never not be funny and there is a great mix of physical, character, intelligent and crude humour. Even when this film wasn't laugh out loud funny I mostly had a grin on my face. It's just one of those comedies you can't help but fall in love with a little bit.
There a some films that are good to have in your locker for a rainy day when you just want to kick back with a comedy, and I'll definitely be adding The 40 Year Old Virgin to that list.