40-Year-Old Virgin, The (2005)

3 out of 4

Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Jane Lynch, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann

Time: 133 min (unrated version)

Viewed: in home theatre

Funny sex comedy about a middle-aged, nerdy man (Carell) who hasn't gone all the way with a woman yet, and the efforts of his work colleagues (Rudd, Malco and Rogen) to help in this endeavour. Unfortunately I only watched the unrated version on DVD, which is 17 min longer than the theatrical cut and noticeably loses steam towards the end. Still, plenty of laughs, with standout performances by Keener and Banks, and a painful but hilarious waxing segment that was done for real. Deserved success for versatile Carell.

(c) Joe Wong (16 January 2006)