This is 40 Review

First of all I have to say that I love Judd Apatow. He produces hilarious comedies and can write some funny material. I like most of the comedies he produces, and the three films he has directed are very good. His last film, “Funny People”, divided audiences and critics alike. Personally, I loved the film and it showed that Apatow could write characters that have depth and engaging story lines. It is actually a dramedy in many ways. In his new film, “This is 40”, Apatow is going into more dramatic territory while still keeping the crude and raunchy humor intact. However, this time he delivers mixed results.

The movie is billed as the sort-of-sequel to 2008’s "Knocked Up". That film is about the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand involving Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), a stoned slacker, and Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), a serious career-minded woman, which ends up in an unintended pregnancy. Alison also has a sister named Debbie (Leslie Mann) who is married to Pete (Paul Rudd). “This is 40” focuses on the latter couple, as they fight their way through their marriage. The growing financial troubles from Pete’s new record label and Debbie’s mid life crisis only add to the pressure.

Judd Apatow knows how to write good dialogue, as the characters seem real and developed. Many people will not completely identify with this upper middle class family, but Pete and Debbie still have problems that everyone faces once in their life like parental issues, business struggles, aging, and strained relationships. Plus Apatow delivers some funny and perspective scenes in the movie. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann have excellent chemistry together, and Melissa McCarthy, who is hilarious in “Bridesmaids”, has a great scene in the movie that almost overshadows the rest of the characters in the movie.

However, the movie is just too long. My main rule about comedies is that no comedy should be over two hours long. This film clocks in at about two hours and 13 minutes. It overstays its welcome and you can tell. It does not help that the film can be a complete mess sometimes. Several plot lines and characters show up and are never developed. There are many characters that are wasted like Jason Segel, Megan Fox, and John Lithgow. At times I found the movie to be a little self-indulgent. This is clearly nepotism at its finest since Apatow casts his wife and his two kids in major roles. Normally I do not have a problem with this if they can act. However, he definitely could have found more talented actors.

Unfortunately, “This is 40” is Apatow’s worst film, but at least this is not a haphazard effort. This is real genuine filmmaking and he gets points for effort. I did not hate the film, but it is not a comedy that I will watch again like his other ones. I still look forward to seeing him expand out of his comfort zone and make a truly great dramedy one day.

This is 40 - 3/5