Review of This Is 40 (2012) by Breakingbrad — 24 Jan 2013

This is 40 was not the kind of comedy that I was expecting, and has shown that Judd Apatow is becoming a much darker director. I have always enjoyed Judd Apatow's work; films like Bridesmaids and The 40-Year Old Virgin were really well made and well written while also being hilarious.

This film is a sequel to Apatow's 2007 film Knocked Up, but it doesn't bring back Seth Rogen or Kathryn Bigelow and instead stars the supporting actors Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. This new movie proves to have some funny and touching moments, but Judd Apatow seems to be more focused on making a drama rather than a comedy.

I didn't laugh as much as I wanted too and many of the characters reach a fine line between likable and really mean. I like to enjoy the characters in a comedy but in this movie the two parents are just always fighting, the two kids are just wretched little creatures, and all the people around them just always give bad advice and make their lives even more difficult.

I must admit, the fights between this married couples were some of the best moments of the movie as they really show the good performances from Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann while also showing some real life arguments that married couples have all the time.

I know many couples that have gone through this kind of mid-life crisis when they were around 40 years old and this movie shows the difficulties of that kind of marriage.