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Posts Tagged ‘comedy’

Did you know Jesus was a Jew?

Well Kevin Smith fans, here it is: the final (?) portion of the Jay and Silent Bob series, and the sequel to the ultimate cult classic low budget indie film. And, this one didn’t suck nearly as bad as Jersey Girl (or so I’m told, anyway, I haven’t had a chance to watch that one just yet) and in many ways is actually better than the original. Kevin Smith really hit a career high here, although I have to admit it was quite obvious that he is working with a budget that exceeds what he spent on the original Clerks (27,000 bucks I believe the original came in at). And that increased budget really added to the “shiny” factor here, but in many ways it was really refreshing to see a Smith movie that wasn’t so “run of the mill” in its cinematography and backgrounds. Starring very common names for these movies, you can expect to see cameos from Ben Affleck and Jason Lee and the previously no-name actors and actresses that made Smith’s movies really shine. For those that have seen Clerks and laughed hysterically at that one chick having sex with the dead guy, get ready to laugh even harder at the sexually deviant scene in this movie. Oh…gotta finish…

Plot

It’s another day in the lives of our anti-heroes from the original Clerks, Dante and Randal. Only this time, the Quick Stop has been burnt to the ground, and Dante and Randal have taken to the job market and become employed at the local Mooby’s Fast Food joint. It is here that their day-to-day adventures take place. Yet again, Dante bitches about his place in life, and Randal seeks to correct him. The two battle it out once again and once yet again they become even stronger friends. During all this time, Dante struggles to straighten out his love life during a battle where he is stuck between two hot chicks. So really, more right from the same ideals and dialogue of the original Clerks. The only difference here is that Dante and Randal are a bit older, although less immature, and the movie is overall in higher quality. So props go once again to Kevin Smith, this movie is fantastic. The plot is well created and thoroughly thought out which makes the movie easy and enjoyable to watch, all the while making you laugh so hard you really have to see it again.

Visual

Like I mentioned before, it’s pretty darn obvious that Kevin Smith is dealing with a much bigger budget in this movie, and one of the places that it shows the most is in the cinematography. Instead of the typical and somewhat boring visual effects that Smith uses in earlier movies (especially Clerks the original), he actually employs cinema graphic effects that are creative and fairly unique if not a little dizzying in a few points. Plus, the jiggly-jiggly tits in the dance scene makes me excited for the DVD so I can use the slow motion feature on my player…but anyway, just another point where Smith really shines. The only bad thing I can say about the visual effects in this movie is the fire in the windows of the Quick Stop at the very beginning of the flick. The fire is obviously not real. But otherwise, every bit of visual effect in this movie is outstanding and far about the quality of typical Smith directed flicks.

Audio

Smith’s choice of music once again stands above any other movie that’s come out in years. I don’t know how he does it, but every movie he makes seems to have better music than the ones prior to it. Smith, you genius, keep up the great work. I think I might just go and “buy” this soundtrack…tee hee…anyway. As for sound effects, there isn’t a whole lot to mention because this is a comedy and not a high dollar action movie. But, the sound works right where it needed to. There was no struggling to understand what was being said, and the voice volume is appropriate and well planned. And the donkey was very believable…oh, gotta finish. Right. Moving on.

Acting

Yet another point where this movie really shines is the acting. Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson (Dante and Randal, respectively), although considerably (and depressingly) older, are in rare form. There was actually a moment I though Jeff Anderson might break down in tears. And every bit of the acting was well performed and quite believable. Even Jason Mewes was in rare and believable form.

Summary

The more I look back on this movie and compare to the original, the more I love the sequel. The only thing missing in this movie that was present in the original was the general feeling of under-budget cult classic independent film portrayed by the black and white splendor. But, that is easily is forgivable by looking at the overall quality of this movie. Plus, the dialogue is far superior to the original, and considerably more comical. I was actually going to give this movie a 4, but after thinking back at the movie and comparing to the original Clerks, I simply cannot degrade this movie that far. It was just too good. So, in a final saying, I give Clerks II

5 Oh, gotta finish…

…out of 5

Kick the tires and light the fires! It’s time for speed!

Oh dear sweet baby Jesus, we thank you for Will Ferrell, the nasty, sexy-hot sport of NASCAR, and Walker Texas Ranger (or T.R. as we like to call him). Please bless this review and thanks for making America the most kick-ass nation on the planet. Oh and due to contractual obligations during grace, I’d also like to pray for Powerade and a successful release of their new flavor. Amen.

…Yeah right, like our reviews have ever been graced by anything other than an insult from our readers.

Momma, I’m going fast!

Ricky Bobby, the man who could only count to one, not only was born for speed but he was born at a hundred miles an hour in the back of a Chevelle. At the age of ten, his weed smoking vagrant father shows up for career day out of nowhere and gives Ricky the idea that, “If you aren’t first, you’re last.” This inspires Ricky and his best bud Cal to be race car drivers, but they don’t wind up exactly where they hoped. Being in the pit crew for the NASCAR team in dead last, Ricky is suddenly given the chance to shine as a driver and shocks everyone with a win. In an instant, their lives are turned around by fame and money, and soon Ricky and Cal are the top drivers in NASCAR. Ricky in his fame marries the sizzling-hot (Ow!) and gold-digging Carley, and they have two incredibly f*cked up kids: Walker and Texas Ranger. But because his #1 attitude and arrogance loses points for the team, the owner, Larry Dennit Jr., brings on the gay French “Formule Un” champion Jean Girard to win championships. Ricky, frustrated by being beaten off-track by the Frenchman, takes matters into his own hands during a race but ends up in a spectacular crash that leaves Ricky psychosomatic and traumatized. And to make things worse, his lifelong buddy Cal has stolen his job, wife, and home. But the broken and ruined Ricky Bobby realizes with help from his mother and returned father that he shouldn’t give up that easily. For the rest of the movie, Ricky learns the true meaning of being a family and rediscovers who he is–and Ricky Bobby is not a thinker, Ricky Bobby is a driver!

Psychosomatic? So what… he can start fires with his mind powers?

It’s been quite a while since I’ve personally seen a Will Ferrell flick on the silver screens; since Old School in fact. But if you’ve seen one of his movies, you can pretty much tell what kind of character he plays in any of them. I think it’s impossible for Will Ferrell to not play the buffoon. But thankfully for this movie, Ricky Bobby is the first character that naturally fits with Will’s one-track acting mind. Going into this one, I was afraid all the funny parts were run dry in the previews, but was pleasantly surprised by the number of laughs I got from the supporting actors. This has got to be Michael Clarke Duncan’s funniest role ever, and I would love to see him try for more. Will’s SNL co-star Molly Shannon was also a riot, even though all she had to do was be drunk and zany. John C. Reilly also has an amazing chemistry with Will; “Shake and Bake” might have something to do with it. But perhaps the funniest lines were from Walker and Texas Ranger (Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell) as they changed from obnoxious brats into Sunday school goers that even compliment the food at Applebee’s.

Was that Elvis Costello and Mos Def?

The movie lacks coherence big time. It feels like things were left on the cutting room floors or just plain never made it into the script. Like Ricky’s newly discovered true love Susan (what some might consider an important role) only gets a few lines when she deserves much more. It also seems to contradict Ricky’s new outlook by yet again focusing only on himself. Plus, Ricky’s relationships with a number of characters seem unresolved by the end. What the hell is up with Chip? Was he just there for Walker and Texas Ranger to torment? I know it’s a comedy and certainly not a tear jerker, but coherence isn’t something to be tossed around like a Tom Cruise joke.

So Will Ferrell finally makes his acting and comedy style work together for a part, and NASCAR is finally parodied. Who could ask for anything more? It is definitely good for some laughs and is a nice summer flick, but don’t expect it to win any awards–and we here at amplizine hand out awards as fast as we hand over the booze money to the cashier. I’d even go as far to say we’re the award sluts of the critics’ world. That’s why I give Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby 3 stars, and if you’re not first, you’re last.

Amplizine Awards

• NASCAR Movie of the Year

We might be in a little bit of a pickle, Dick.

Ah, finally a movie with Jim Carrey where he doesn’t overact every scene. Not that I’m complaining, sometimes I really enjoy a good Jim Carrey irrelevant comedy, but there are other times that I really don’t. Fortunately, this movie is able to retain its comic value even with only one or two scenes of Jim’s usual interchangeable type of comedy. Directed by Dean Parisot and starring Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, and Alec Baldwin, this movie is a refreshing break from the usual comic drivel seeping out of the wounds of Hollywood (Sorry…its late. Or early. Uh, right).

Plot

After finally reaching a new height on the corporate ladder, Dick Harper finds the company in dire trouble when the owner strips it off and sells its assets (or something, I’m just a mechanic not a CEO what do you want?) After being framed and publicly ashamed from Globodyne’s horrific death, Dick and Jane Harper take it into their own hands by stealing back everything that was taken from them. From robbing the local starbucks to ripping off a nearby headshop, the “dynamic duo” rob their way back into the comforts of vice president life. Then taking on one last job, the two manage to trick the ex-owner of Globodyne Jack McCallister (Alec Baldwin) into giving 400 million dollars to fulfill the pensions and stuff of the ex-employees. But don’t just take my word for it, there’s more to it than just thievin’ and trickin’.

Visual

This movie did an excellent job in personifying the life and lifestyles of the suburbs in the year 2000, and the portrayal of CEO and VP life in the city was expertly and efficiently crafted. Whoa, I just blacked out a bit there. What was I saying? Right, moving on. Otherwise excellent cinematography but nothing worth mention. By that I mean it was good but very run-of-the-mill.

Audio

I love the music in this flick. I really found myself absorbed by the music, but only because it was not subtle. It was obvious and clearly intended to be that way. It actually helped to bring the movie to reality as strange as that may be. In most movies I look for subtle background type music that isn’t noticeable when it shouldn’t be, but without active music I don’t think this movie would have worked quite as well.

Acting

Top notch. As I mentioned briefly in the intro, Jim Carrey did not overdo this movie, and I found it to be a refreshing break from his more typical comedy. Tea Leoni is also quite noteworthy here; she made the perfect suburb housewife and played the part effortlessly. As for Alec Baldwin, also quite enjoyable. I really bought into the whole CEO part, but I don’t think he was quite as good as Jim Carrey. Pretty damn close, but just not quite.

Summary

It’s really quite unfortunate that this movie did not do better in the box office, as I believe it’s one the better movies coming out of Hollywood in quite some time. Beyond what I think though, many other people I have spoken to about this movie mentioned about how thoroughly enjoyable it was. Even my parents (whom I try to shield from anything rated R) actually enjoyed this movie. There was no gratuitous violence and certainly no nudity and any adult content fit into the theme and feel of the movie flawlessly without being overwhelming.

4 “I’m being indicted!” out of 5

Delightful

Here’s a movie that I forgot to review a long time ago, and one that is certainly due for it’s additional fifteen minutes in the spotlight (as if this review could be considered the spotlight, right?) I can only review this movie on the basis that it is quite possibly the best animated movie of all time. Right up there with Emperor’s New Groove (review coming soon, my minions).* Shrek really dazzles the audience with original humor, excellent voice over and even very believable animation, right from the very beginning of the movie to the very end. Plus it entails a wonderfully original love-story-adventure-quest plot that is not only easy to follow, but fun as well. Starring such huge names as Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow, and Cameron Diaz, this 2001 film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vickey Jenson will astonish viewers of all ages.

*Editor’s note: you don’t have minions King, you ARE the minion.

Plot

Reclusive ogre Shrek goes on an epic quest to remove a spattering of fairy-tale creatures dumped onto his swamp by the evil dictator “king” Lord Farquad only to be sent on a further quest to retrieve the lass Farquad wishes to marry in order to become king. Damn that was a weird sentence. But anyway, after embarking on an additional quest to save the princess, Shrek finds himself hopelessly in love with the lovely Princess Fiona who hides a terrible secret. This love then balloons into a frantic situation and a slight plot twist right at the very end. And although the plot does seem slightly cliché every now and then, there is not a single point where it disappoints. Plus, right when you start thinking you know where the movie is going, something new comes along and changes it all. Most excellent plot development.

Visual

The CGI really made this movie fantastic. Although still obviously CG, it is so well developed that you can really see the time and effort the animators placed into every scene. The lighting is exceptional and really requires mention. From the breath of the fire-breathing dragon lighting up the castle walls to the sun setting over the kingdom of Duloc, every bit of light beautifully interacts with all other aspects of the particular scene.

Audio

The theme song is beyond catchy here, it’s actually contagious. You’ll find yourself humming the song for days afterwards. Even during the actual movie, the music never takes on a point where it seems to not fit. Every part of the music fits exactly the way it should into every scene. Even though most of the music is an adaptation of the same theme song, it is adapted so well you barely even notice it’s the same song.

Acting

Here is where the movie really shines–for an animated movie anyway. When I watch an animated movie, I don’t want to spend the entire flick trying to figure out the name of one of the actors doing the voice over. But I also don’t want to only think of that actor during the movie, I want the voice to seem fitting with the character that is being portrayed. This is where many animated movies go astray when they enlist huge name actors–it’s far to difficult to forget that someone had to voice that character. In Shrek, however, the huge name actors blend so beautifully into the character being acted out that you actually forget who is doing the acting and enjoy just the characters. Just the way it should be.

Script

I have to add this little extra part in here to give some props to the writers in this movie, they did such an excellent job on the script that it’s originality is sure to become the standard by which all animated movies should be created. The humor is outright fantastic, and the movie actually sports jokes and melodrama suited not only for the young children, but also even more so to adults. So congrats to the writers of Shrek, because they did such a great job that I actually broke my template for movie reviews. Kudos.

Summary

If you haven’t yet seen this movie, you must be a caveman, or perhaps Amish. But if you’re Amish then you shouldn’t be reading this review on a webpage then should you? So anyway, if you haven’t seen it then go buy it right now. Don’t rent it first, don’t borrow it, just go buy it. The re-watch-ability is excellent and I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t love this movie. So in conclusion, the plot is great, the script is stunning, the acting is perfect, and CGI is just the way it should be. So all in all is this movie really worth your time? Absolutely. Is it worth 5 stars? You better believe it.

5 “You didn’t slay the dragon?!?!?” out of 5

Pixar is at it again

Horsepower, speed, chrome, and skid marks. No, I’m not talking about King’s car, or his underwear for that matter. I’m talking about Pixar’s newest release, Cars. They packed the cast full of big name celebrities from the big screen, TV, radio, and several racing circuits. There are so many running Pixar jokes in this movie that I couldn’t even begin to count them all after only watching it once.

Plot

Have you seen Doc Hollywood? It’s fairly similar to that, but without all the people. It’s called Cars, get it? The movie follows Lightning McQueen (voice by Owen Wilson), a cocky rookie racecar on his way to California for the Piston Cup. On his way he gets lost one night because he can’t see where he is going, his headlights are only stickers. He ends up causing a lot of damage to this small town of Radiator Springs and is sentenced to community service by repairing the main road he tore up. After a while he begins to make friends with the locals and eventually makes it to his big race.

Visual

AMAZING. If Pixar were to leave out the cars and just show some short clips of the Radiator Springs area you would probably think it was real. People who really pay attention to the background will pick out car shapes in the mountains and the rock bluffs. The little VW Beetle bugs flying around in some of the scenes are hilarious, rather than contrails in the sky left from jets you can see clouds in the shape of tire tracks. Pixar quadrupled (that’s 4x for those of you who have trouble with big words) their processing power after making The Incredibles and they still spent an average of 17 hours rendering each frame of the movie. And it shows in the final product. The detail that they put into the cars, the buildings, and especially the scenery is amazing.

Audio

Lots of good stuff here, they have some good music that really helps set the mood for whatever might be happening at the time. Nothing really memorable about the music, but at least none of it seemed out of place. Lots of country and slow music to describe the old town of Radiator Springs and especially when Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and Lightning go “Tractor Tipping.” And the music speeds up when Lightning gets back on the race track. The voice over acting matched seamlessly with the mouths on the cars so there are no problems there.

Acting

Woah, how many actors and celebrities can you fit into one movie? Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, George Carlin, John Ratzenberger (Isn’t he in every Pixar movie?), Michael Keaton, Richard & Mrs. Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Tom & Ray (Click & Clack from Car Talk) Magliozzi, Jay Leno, Michael Schumacher, and Mario Andretti just to name… more than a few. Pixar recognizes that John Ratzenberger is in every movie they have made, and they make a joke about it at the end of the movie while the credits are rolling. The only thing that struck me as odd through the whole movie was that the fire truck, Red, never said anything. And I didn’t find out until later why. The movie is dedicated to Joe Ranft who was the voice of Red, and the Peterbilt at the beginning of the movie, as well as being the Co-director of the movie, died in a car crash in August 2005. They had to cut Red’s lines because they didn’t want to replace him. The appearance of racing celebrities throughout the movie adds a touch of fun. I would have acted much the same way that Luigi and Guido did if Michael Schumacher showed up at my door too.

Summary

Great, fun movie. There are jokes for the entire family. Car lovers will find nearly every kind imaginable in the movie at one point or another. Mater’s signature voice adds the hillbilly humor everyone loves and will make you “Happier than a tornado in a trailer park.” There is a good lesson in the movie about friendship and respect too… somewhere. I was too busy laughing to notice. I give it 5 “Pit Stop?”s out of 5

Pixar just can’t make bad movies!

What? An animated flick? Who the hell do I think I am? wait…I think I’m a movie reviewer dude, and I think I know who I am. Right. Moving on. Here’s a bit of a break from the norm, with a review of the movie The Incredibles. A creation of Disney in conjunction with Pixar, this box office smash hit cartoon dealie was more than entertaining. It was just flat out fun. And anyone who has read my previous articles knows that I don’t really review a movie based on its “fun” factor. But after seeing this flick, I was persuaded that movies really can be fun. It stars such people as my favorite actor of all time Jason Lee as the bad guy and Samuel L. Jackson (what movie isn’t this guy in?) as a kind of sidekick. Unfortunately, I didn’t really recognize the other actors and actresses, but more on that later. This movie is exceptionally well done and is more a work of art than a movie.

Plot

The movie follows the lives of a family of underground superheroes after a series of lawsuits forces the government to conceal the identities and stop the super activity of superheroes. This particular family’s father, Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) played by Craig T. Nelson longs for the “glory days” when he could save lives and be loved and cherished by the whole nation. After losing his job at an insurance company, Mr. Incredible gladly takes on a job for big bucks on a remote island where he can once again use his powers. Unbeknownst to him, however, he is working for someone whose sole purpose is to kill all supers and become a super hero himself. After “killing” Mr. Incredible, Syndrome played by Jason Lee, sends a gigantic robot to the city and attempts to disable it. After realizing he is unable to become the hero he wants to be, Syndrome is foiled by his own robot, which is now destroying the whole city. It is then up to the Incredibles (that’s the whole family, not just Mr. Incredible) to vanquish the evil. And so on. I won’t delve in any more, because I don’t want to ruin the ending.

Visual

All CGI, all the time. But it really works. I know I’ve left a few animated movies thinking how crappy the graphics seemed, but this flick pulled it all off very well. Now, I’m sure you’ve all seem some Pixar movie, so I’m sure you know the quality of graphics they produce. But this movie even exceeds all previous work. It’s not quite perfectly lifelike, but it’s close enough to make you believe it could be real. Plus, a lot the visuals took on a very “James Bond” kind of feel that I found quite exhilarating. I really can’t stress enough the uniqueness of these visuals, I actually left the theater wanting more. I wanted to see more of the movie, I wanted more James Bond bad guy secret hideouts and beautiful CGI.

Audio

A great theme song, and even better special effect sounds. I found myself humming the theme song for the whole day afterward, and occasionally it gets stuck in my head still. The song fit the movie perfectly, and almost helped the believability of the flick. It actually helped it seem like a Superman meets James Bond movie, but with better acting, plot, sound effects, and originality.

Acting

Yeah, I know it’s animated, and that there really isn’t a whole lot of acting required with voicing-over, but I was pleasantly surprised with the acting quality here. Every part of each voice-over is incredibly (pun intended) believable. You could almost catch yourself thinking the characters are real thanks to this. It really helped make the whole movie seem more like a live action movie than an animated flick. As for the acting quality of the actors I had never heard of? I could almost say that they are better than even the ones I have heard of. Truly impressive.

Summary

I would strongly recommend this movie to any person of all ages. From that six year old obnoxious cousin you have to baby-sit for the weekend while her parents are in Vegas, to the ninety year old that you sit with on Thursday mornings to make him feel loved again. But it also works for everything in between. This is the kind of movie that my parents would watch and enjoy (for those who don’t know, I help them to watch movies that won’t make them mad…and that’s pretty damn tough to do). So as the first review of an aminated movie, I’m proud to rate this one exceptionally high. If you haven’t seen this one yet, you should go do that. Just spend the buck or two to rent it. You’ll like it, I promise. Yes, do my bidding, excellent. Right, anyway. 5 out of 5

A Mel Brooks written flick with singing and dancing? No way!

I’m sure you all remember seeing trailers for this flick, you know, the new Mel Brooks produced and written movie? With the singing and dancing? Yeah, that’s the one. It really bombed seriously hardcore in the box office. But you want to know the real shocker about this musical (and not just that I, a mechanic, actually watched a musical)? This movie was freakin’ great. It came out at the same time as some huge flick, but for all my searching on imdb.com, I could not figure out which movie. That really was unfortunate though, because this movie, in my opinion, could be one of the best to come out in 2005. And I have never watched a musical that I actually enjoyed, so that’s saying a whole lot. Set in the 1950s and starring Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Nathan Lane, and Will Ferrell, nothing about this movie disappoints. It’s fun, entertaining, captivating, thrilling, and sometimes a little gay (by a little I mean–damn).

Plot

Down-on-his-luck Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) and his excitable accountant Leopold Bloom (Matthew Broderick) realize that under the right circumstances, it’s possible to make more money with a broadway flop than with a hit. So the two scheme together to create the ultimate Broadway flop of all time. The two procure the worst play ever written: “Springtime for Hitler” written by the psychotically devoted pigeon-farming, ex-nazi Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell). Then they hire the worst director possible, a flamboyantly gay cross-dresser. Then they hire (mostly by mistake) a beautiful Swedish blonde named Ulla (Uma Thurman) to star in the flop. But just before the premiere, Franz Liebkind who was supposed to play Hitler, breaks his leg. And taking over for him: the flamboyantly gay director. Due to the acting of this director, the show is a hit. This leaves Max and Leo in an awful pickle that leads from one twist to another right until the end of the movie (not to mention multiple fascinating singing and dancing scenes).

Visual

Very cool. The Producers accurately portrays life in New York in the 50’s and the lighting is fascinating. Just when you think the scene is getting bland, some cool lighting or a strangely dressed director pops into view. Very impressive, and I could not find any real flaws in the visuals of this flick. Extra props to the choreographers of this movie, it was very impressive to see such high-name actors dancing in time and with accuracy.

Audio

The music in this movie was very impressive, the wording was creative and comical and perhaps a touch melodramatic at times, but is so excellently performed that you almost forget that they are singing, it just seems like better acting. As for other audio touches, there’s nothing to really mention. Any sound effects were good but not overwhelming, and in a movie like this it fit exactly the way it should have. God damn the singing was great.

Acting

The actors just flat out made this movie. Everyone’s performances were spot on. Even Will Ferrell didn’t damage the movie by overacting, as he often does. But the acting and musical acting was absolutely flawless. I really can’t stress enough how excellent all the actors and actresses were here, especially Matthew Broderick. His performance as the manic, excitable, compulsive accountant was excellent.

Summary

Nothing about this movie disappoints me. I actually felt like it was a musical that anyone can enjoy. From young children to old adults, you can easily appreciate the subtle humor, the obvious humor, and the melodramatic humor. All while enjoying stellar vocal performances from everyone in the cast. And the dancing is pretty damn good too. If you only rent one movie this summer, I strongly recommend this. Even if it does seem a little long for a musical, the ending fits flawlessly into the rest of the movie, so the extra time is well worth it.

5 “Adolf Elizibeth Hitler?” out of 5

Is it a comedy or a horror?

Since it’s nearing finals time for all you college students out there, I figured I’d help you out and give you a short exam for practice. Ready?

1. How old is the main character in The 40 Year Old Virgin?
2. What do you think the story revolves around in The 40 Year Old Virgin?

Did you get both of those right? I hope so because if you didn’t, then you are officially the dumbest person alive. The 40 Year Old Virgin centers around a 40 year old virgin named Andy. You get to follow him on his quest to get laid. Andy works as a stock room manager in an electronics store. Andy isn’t a normal 40 year old though. In fact, Andy is a 40 year old teenager. His home is stuffed to the brink with video games, high-end electronics, collectable toys (Is that the Six Million Dollar Man’s Boss?) and comics. The one thing Andy doesn’t have in common with the average teenager is that he pretty much never thinks about sex. That doesn’t stop him from waking up every morning with a boner problem.

Plot

The story picks up after you get the idea of what Andy’s life is like. Andy’s co-workers are desperately trying to find someone to fill their poker game and decide to ask Andy. Maybe not the best idea since they think he is a serial killer. During the poker game, Andy divulges is little secret while trying to tell a raunchy sex story. His co-workers, who consider themselves all to be ladies men, decide to help Andy fix his little problem. The advice Andy receives is pretty much the same advice every guy gives to a buddy who is trying to get out of a slump. Tackle drunk girls. To complicate things, Andy meets and falls in love with Trish, a divorcee who runs a nearby shop.

Steve Carrell (The Daily Show, Anchorman, and Bruce Almighty), who co-wrote the story, pulls off the character brilliantly. He’s a smart ass and a geek. He’s a hero and a loser. The parts of his co-workers, which include Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan, are also very relatable. It seems possible, but still unlikely, that a separate comedy could be based on each of these parts. Paul Rudd plays David, a guy so obsessed with his ex-girlfriend from two years ago that he is nearly stalking her. Cal, played by Seth Rogan, is a hedonistic jewish guy constantly looking for one night stands.

Audio Visual

Not much to say here really. Its not like there are a bunch of explosions that fill up the entire screen. Overall, the movie is pretty clean and the color quality is pretty good. The movie featured good detail and was consistently crisp. The sound is also very clean. However, this is a comedy, meaning it is dialogue-driven. There are a few times the movie features surround-sound music and sound effects, but alas, this is not an action movie.

DVD Extras

Pretty standard stuff here. You got the feature-length commentary which includes practically everyone in the movie. There are ten people in this commentary. It includes the director Judd Apatow, Steve Carrell, Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd, and many other people that could be called the main cast. There are six deleted scenes. In my opinion, most of these could have been included in the film, but, considering that the movie is already on the long side for comedies, it was probably a good choice to leave them out. All of the deleted scenes also have a commentary, by Apatow and Rogan. There are also five extended scenes which are basically improvisations by the actors. Also included is a three and a half-minute featurette on the waxing scene. It breaks down the multiple angles and basically shows all the work that went into getting that scene right the first and only time they had to shoot it.

The Last Word

Overall, The 40 Year Old Virgin is one of the most enjoyable movies to come out in a while. The cast is one of the best assembled comedic casts ever. The story is simple, the jokes are raunchy, and the cast is just straight out hilarious. Directors, for future reference, this is how you pull off sex jokes. They are well crafted and tastifully done, or at least as tastifully done as a sex joke can be. In conclusion, The 40 Year Old Virgin receives 5 Wax Jobs out of 5.