Funny

Rating: 7/10 (18 September 2008)

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is one of those independent films that comes along, every so often, and becomes a hit. A few years ago it was My Big Fat Greek Wedding that was a surprise hit, and a few years before that it was The Blair Witch Project. This film is superior to both of those earlier films, and has more in common with another sleeper film that predated both of those films, 1998's Office Space, which was one of the first films to flop theatrically, yet become a big hit on the then-new DVD format. The 40-Year-Old Virgin shares a similar sensibility toward the dullness of the work environment (this time a Circuit City/Best Buy like electronics store vs. a computer programming company, but its satire of the workplace is dead on.
The difference between The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Office Space, however, is that the bulk of the newer film focuses on the personal lives of its lead character and his co-workers David (Paul Rudd)- who's stalking his ex-girlfriend, Jay (Romany Malco)- a black, bald Lothario, and Cal (Seth Rogen)- an ugly, bearded wannabe novelist, who make it their mission to get him laid at any cost. Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell, of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and the NBC TV show The Office) is a collector of 'action figures' from the 1970s and 1980s (such as The Six Million Dollar Man's boss, Oscar Goldman), avid Survivor watcher, along with an old black neighbor, has a framed Asia rock poster, a ton of video games, and has somehow never managed to get laid in his four decades, although he's come close. Any male who has pined for females that he never got to be with will be able to relate to Andy's dilemma- if not to the extent of Andy's angst, certainly the gist of it. His co-worker's advice ranges from the bad to the ridiculous, as each of them could easily be termed loser, as well. He agrees to go out with his pals, and ends up being puked on by a gorgeous, but drunken blond named Nicky (Leslie Mann), who nearly gets them both killed with her driving. He then hits on Beth (Elizabeth Banks), a sexpot at the local bookstore, and succeeds in getting her interested. That's when he meets a sexy and kind divorced grandmother named Trish (Catherine Keener), who runs an EBay store at the same mall where Andy's store isÂ…. It's a chick flick for guys, in a sense, yet better for it. Watch this film at least once every year or two, and it'll never get old, for there always have been and always will be Andy Stitzers. That's a damned good thing!