As soon as this movie began, I knew I liked the title character, and even though I don't fit the description of the character that the title utilizes, I could relate to him. In his home he had a big movie poster of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," pictures of comic book characters on his wall, and action figures all over the place (most still in the original packaging, of course). Not only that, but he had his comic books inside of comic book long boxes. The only people who know what a comic book long box is are comic book geeks (such as yours truly) and the annoyed girlfriend who has to put up with them. I smiled when I saw the comic book long boxes, and I appreciate the fact that the character had them.
"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" is a really good movie, I liked it a lot. The comedy is absurd and raunchy, and I did a lot of laughing during the film. It gets a little silly at times, and it's perhaps a little too long, but I definitely enjoyed it. Surprisingly, it's a very sweet-natured movie, especially with how the title character is portrayed. Even though he's a geek, and even though he really is a 40-year-old virgin, he's not portrayed is weird or freaky. He's just a regular guy who has interests that some might find dorky, but he's a good person. This could have easily been a movie where he's the frequent butt of jokes, but that's not the case here.
This movie was directed by Judd Apatow, and this is his feature film directorial debut (though he was a writer, producer, and director for the TV shows "Undeclared," "The Larry Sanders Show," and one of my favorite TV shows of all-time, the short-lived "Freaks and Geeks"... he also produced "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"). His inexperience shows, because there's a lot in this movie that seems scattershot, with subplots being completely dropped and moments that have absolutely no relevance to the scene. One part that comes to mind is when there are two black characters getting into an argument. It's awkward, and it's totally unnecessary to the scene as a whole. I dunno, maybe Apatow should stick to writing and producing, and limit his directing to TV.
I really liked the cast in this movie. It stars Steve Carell, who wrote the film along with Apatow. You may remember Carell from his scene-stealing roles in "Bruce Almighty" and "Anchorman," as well as his work as a correspondent on "The Daily Show." He plays the title character, and he's really good. He pretty much has to carry this movie, and he does a great job doing that. His comedic timing his excellent, and even when he's not being funny, his acting seems sincere. His love interest in the film is played by the excellent Catherine Keener. I've seen her in "Full Frontal," "Being John Malkovich," "Your Friends & Neighbors," and "Out of Sight," and she's never less than superb. I really like her as an actress, and as usual, she's awesome in this movie.
The actors who play the main character's three friends are played by Paul Rudd ("The Object of My Affection," "The Shape of Things," "Anchorman"), Seth Rogen (Judd Apatow seems to like working with him, since he was also in "Anchorman," "Undeclared," and "Freaks and Geeks"... he was also in "Donnie Darko"), and Romany Malco (he played M.C. Hammer in the VH-1 TV-Movie, "Too Legit: The M.C. Hammer Story"). All three of them are great in the movie, and provide some of the movie's funniest moments.
In case you don't know, the hilarious scene where Steve Carell gets his chest waxed (a photo from that scene is at the top of this page) was real. No special effects, no CGI, he was really getting his chest waxed. In fact, there's a close-up where you can see blood actually beading to the surface. Yep, that's his real blood. Carell's reaction's are completely real, as are the reactions of the waxer and his friends watching the ordeal. It's the funniest scene in the movie, though, so the pain was probably worth it. Then again, that's easy for me to say since I wasn't the one getting waxed. How the hell can women do that?
"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" is a movie that won't save the world or anything, but it's funny, sweet, and entertaining. Sure, the comedy gets a little over the top, the movie is about ten minutes too long, and the directing is clunky, but the good outweighs the bad significantly.
Scale of 1-10: 8