Grade A

 

One of the best, crude comedies with a heart, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” stars Steve Carell in the title role, a middle-aged nerd who has given up on meeting women and settled for a dull, lifeless and sexless existence.  But when his secret comes out, his co-workers make it their mission to teach Carell what he needs so he can finally know what it’s like to have sex.

Crazy women, kinky women, substance abusing women, outrageous advice on how to pick up women…Carell endures it all; but what he really needs is the simple courage and confidence to call and ask out a woman (played by Catherine Keener) who has shown interest in Carell.  Assuming he does that, Carell still has the obstacle of not knowing what to do if and when it finally happens for him.

My most memorable, movie moment of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” is the scene when Carell is asked by his co-workers to recount his sexual encounters.   Put on the spot and obviously not having any sex stories, Carell starts making up stories until he finally trips up by describing large breasts as feeling like a bag of sand!

Crude, vulgar, funny as hell, and filled with likeable and memorable characters, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” is a sweet story underneath all the locker room humor.

— M