APPARENTLY ROMANCE AND SEX CAN CO-EXIST

By: B -- 8/25/05

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is referring to Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell), a middle-aged geek whose friends decide to help him get laid for the first time. Andy’s three buddies, Token Lovesick Guy, Token Black Guy and Token Tokin’ Guy, make every attempt to help him attain that first bedpost notch: pick-up line tips, clubbing, speed dating, hiring a hooker, etc.

Andy, a well-meaning tight-ass with a stellar action figure collection, plays along with the schemes but can’t stop thinking about Trish (Catherine Keener), a quirky single mother he’s met at his go-nowhere day job. In the midst of Andy’s sex struggles, his pals deal with their own relationship issues. Virgin is part romantic comedy, part sex comedy.

It’s a strange combination, but it works perfectly. Virgin hits all the right notes in all the right ways. The dialogue is quietly hilarious, mostly consisting of the guys' observations about sex and relationships. Considering the film’s premise I expected a lot of forced high jinks, but was pleasantly mistaken. The laughs were in the words, the circumstances, the subtle one-liners.

Of all the dead-on performances in the film, Carell is most impressive. He so embodies the geeky, pent-up personality of Andy that I’m beginning to wonder if the Steve Carell on “The Daily Show” is the fabricated character. It’s a typecast-worthy performance.

A minor quibble: Virgin is incredibly formulaic. It’s as if writer/director Judd Apatow penned the film after reading a How To Write a Screenplay book. The four romantic comedy requirements are present and accounted for: The potential couple meets within the first half hour, leading to a montage showing why the couple is perfect for each other, followed by the inevitable relationship roadblocks, which builds to the requisite happy ending. Virgin isn’t groundbreaking in any capacity, but again this is a minor quibble: comedies need not break ground to be enjoyable.

Virgin is laugh-out-loud, rated-R humor without resorting to cop-out gags. It’s romantic without being over-the-top. It’s raunchy (at times) without feeling juvenile. I’m not deeming it an instant classic, but I will say this: The 40-Year-Old Virgin is at least as good as fellow romantic/sex comedy hybrid Wedding Crashers. See it soon.

POP RATING: 8

CRITICAL RATING: 7

B’S RATING: 8

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