Review of The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) by Genevieve R — 12 Jul 2013

Really funny and captivating. A nice fusion of romantic comedy and bro comedy, combining the charming chemistry of Carell and Keener with the raunchy, silly humour of his friends at the electronics store and Carell's attempts to pick up women. I saw this a while ago and I didn't remember how funny it was. Every part was well acted and over-the-top, especially Jane Lynch and Elizabeth Banks.

From the advertising and the first few scenes it seems as if the movie is out to mock virgins and label them as geeky losers, but as the movie progresses it begins to mock the macho men who have to sleep with hundreds of girls and repeat the phrase "no homo" ad nauseum in order to affirm their masculinity. It also challenges our culture's obsession with sex, neither making it out to be terrible nor the be-all and end-all of life. The moral is that sex isn't as important as we pretend it is and it's better to wait for the right person than to get rid of your virginity as fast as you can, which still doesn't necessarily mean waiting for marriage.

I loved the random ending with a dance party to the song "Age of Aquarius". Thoroughly... unexpected.