Release Date: 6 October 2005

Synopsis :

40-year-old Andy Stitzer has done quite a few things in his lift. He’s got a cushy job stamping invoices at an electronics superstore, a nice apartment with a proud collection of action figures and comic books, good friends, a nice attitude. But there’s just one little thing he hasn’t quite gotten around to doing yet –Andy’s never, ever, ever had sex – not even by accident. His buddies consider it their duty to help Andy out of this dire situation and go to great lengths to help him. But nothing proves effective enough to lure their friend out of lifelong chastity until he meets Trish (Catherine Keener), a 40-year-old mother of three.

Movie Review:

There’s always something special with the first time.

We have already had the classic “American Pie” which contains hilarious madcap adventures of four teenagers trying very hard to lose their virginity and now we have this movie that touches on the same Holy Grail in life: having sex for the first time. Except Andy (Steve Carell) is no longer a teenager and as the title of this movie suggested, he is already a 40-year-old guy who (*gasp*) has not tried the legendary forbidden fruit.

Andy is seemingly ok with being a virgin and had somewhat comfortably settled down into a lifestyle of toy collecting and computer gaming without any real social life at all (unless you count watching “Survivor” with two elderly neighbors as one).

His life took a life-altering turn when his colleagues invited him to a game of poker and while exchanging sexual experiences over the gambling table, Andy blurted out an embarrassing and obvious truth: the truth that Andy had zero experience.

That’s where the story gets “juicy”. Although Andy’s colleagues are ever-ready with all the advice and help, they are not exactly the slickest in the field. Their well-intentioned coaching tips on hitching up with a girl resulted in rounds of funny and painful events including targeting of drunk females and going for chest hair removal, causing plenty of awkward and humorous moments for our hero here.

The golden scene would be the “de-hairing” of Andy’s chest hair. For that particular scene, Steve Carell had his real chest hair literally ripped out! The director’s reason: to capture the authentic moment of pain and to tell the truth, those expressions are simply priceless.

Like many of his Saturday Night Live (SNL) seniors, Steve Carell is moving into the big time and The 40 year old Virgin showcases his ability to do so. While his take on comedy differs from the other wacky slapstick that many of the SNL folks are famous for, he brings it on his own distinct warm and wholesome flavor that could prove to be very endearing. Halfway through your movie date, even you will be rooting for him to get laid.

Luckily the film didn’t just dwell on one running gag of the virginity issues over and over again. It also highlighted the different issues in relationship such as cheating, letting go after breakup and making the sometimes painful adjustment for another person to come into your life.

The adjustment of personal space for the spouse was reflected by the relationship of Andy and Trish (Catherine Keener). In the desperate midst of getting laid, Andy met his perfect girl: a shop owner who works across his workplace. However Trish is already the mother of 3 and in order to set a good example against promiscuity for her daughters, they had to delay that special first time for Andy even longer.

The most painful adjustment came about when Trish tried to get Andy to sell his toy collection in order to start up a business on his own. As a collector myself, I can testify that situations like this really do take place and it makes you wonder, how much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice for that special person.

Although I personally do not find the actress Catherine Keener exactly visually attractive here (there were other potential dates for Andy before Trish that was so much more attractive), the chemistry that she managed to build with Steve Carell made the blossoming relationship between Andy and Trish believable.

Losing one’s virginity has never been as memorable or difficult as Andy’s quest. Without a doubt, this is the next best comedic performance after American Pie to touch on losing one’s virginity. Catch it when it’s released.

Movie Rating:

(One of the Best Comedy of 2005!)

Review by Richard Lim Jr