Movie Review - The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Keep in mind, that title doesn't mean "a movie review BY a 40-year-old virgin." I'm not even 32 yet.

Anyways, on with the film.... Steve Carell has a knack for playing the meek, unwordly Best Buy-type store clerk. I'll definitely give him that -- he has talent, and whenever he says something that doesn't fit that stereotype, it can be hilarious. I wouldn't mind seeing him in more character actor-type roles, but as a leading man.... I don't think he has what it takes. Kind of like the Jack Black rule of 2003.

The film has an interesting premise, with Carell's friends trying to help him lose his virginity (watch for a brief cameo by the ex-Mrs. DDP, Kimberly Page) until he meets a character played by Catherine Keener (whom, for whatever reason, I can't STAND. Every time she says something, in any film I've seen her in, I want to throw a brick at the screen.) and decides he wants to abstain indefinitely.

So that part is interesting enough. But when they launch into long, complex and overly-detailed subplots of all his friends, it just takes away from the film. By the time I'd left the theater (and this was after, I kid you not, 30 f'ng minutes of previews!), I felt as if I had watched an entire season of a TV series, not a movie. There was just way too much material, and not all of it very good.

Don't get me wrong -- there were a few genuine laughs, and as I said, Carell works in his role. I just can't believe people are comparing this to, say, Wedding Crashers, as being the summer's funniest film. No contest there.