"This Is 40" - directed by Judd Apatow
Pitched as the "Sort Of Sequel to Knocked Up" this movie follows two of the secondary characters from Judd Apatow's 2007 hit comedy.
I wonder if the decision to follow sideline character's in the follow up movie was driven by a desire to work with Rudd and Mann (Apatow's real life wife) or a lack of desire to do so again with Katherine Heigl?
Regardless, what we get is a movie about a couple (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) who have been together 14 years and are raising two daughters.
In the early stages it is constructed as a series of chunks of the families life seemingly without any narrative flow to it.
We see the every day stuff happen - family meals, work, catching up with friends and so forth.
On occasion we see the couple separately as they work out - she with her personal trainer- he with his cycling group.
It is such an ordinary slice of life for much of the first hour that I wondered where on earth it could possibly be going.
I should add that by 'ordinary slice of life' I mean for a well off Californian couple.
No surprise that a lot of the screenplay was inspired by the real experiences of writer-director Apatow and wife Leslie Mann who are certainly a well off Californian couple.
Not exactly easy for most people to relate to and this resulted in a bizarre up and down of disappointment / enjoyment for me.
Part of my early disappointment can be explained by a popular phrase - 'First World Problem'.
It is hard to sympathise too much with a couple who drive a BMW, live in a huge house, have a couple of pretty adorable kids and still find things to whine incessantly about.
I think Leslie Mann is gorgeous, talented and funny but she started to get on my nerves like fingernails on a blackboard very quickly.
Her voice seemed to rise an octave with each word in each whining sentence until pretty face and golden hair not withstanding I wanted to slap her.
I am an even bigger fan of Paul Rudd who can take even average dialogue and make it far better than it has any right to be.
This is the case here with some very clunky, very obvious dialogue.
You can see the set up coming a mile off in a lot of cases.
The old bait and switch reversal where a character categorically states one thing then immediately does a one-eighty is in evidence aplenty.
It is supposed to be clever and funny but it doesn't come off at all even with Rudd delivering a chunk of it.
But then a strange thing happened.
I started to enjoy myself watching this movie.
It could be that so much talent and so many story strands are introduced that quantity wins out over quality but that is too easy an explanation.
Megan Fox is rarely (read- never) held up as an example of fine acting but her presence in "This Is 40" is an absolute boon.
Yes- she looks utterly amazing but she is clearly enjoying this role.
She is given some decent comedic moments and makes the most of her considerable screen time.
Her nightclub outing with Mann gives her the chance to display some deft comedic timing and she rises to the challenge very well.
The swimming pool and table scenes late in the movie in which Chris O'Dowd and Jason Segel compete for her affections works as much because of Fox as it does because of the reliably hilarious contributions of the two men.
(This scene really makes me want a movie with O'Dowd and Segel as leads- that could be gold)
With typically solid support from Albert Brooks as Rudd's Father and John Lithgow as Mann's there is plenty to savour at least in terms of acting chops.
Elements are overused such as the "Lost" tv show that eldest daughter Sadie is obssessed with and Mann's smoking and Rudd's cupcakes but for the most part it is a nicely observed portrayal of a marriage at a crossroads.
This one has a lot of the feel of James Brooks underrated "Spanglish" about it without being I think quite as successful as that film.
The odd use of the tagline 'The Sort of Sequel to Knocked Up' turns out to be completely accurate.
This certainly doesn't feel like the same world as the 2007 movie.
The signature Apatow raunchiness and frank portrayal of sex and relationships is still there but whereas "Knocked Up" felt like a date movie for sixteen to twenty five year old's this one appears made for people who are now approaching the titular forty.
There is a lot that will only really fully click for the older viewer I suspect.
Despite my early reservations I enjoyed this movie a lot and would rate it as one of Apatow's strongest writing efforts.
It is clunky for the first half hour but it endears itself more and more with each passing minute until the petty problems of the central couple become larger concerns as they strain the relationship and the family as a whole.
If I hadn't enjoyed the time with these characters I wouldn't have cared but I did it seems.
There are some touching moments devoid of the sort of overblown sentiment that often ruins such things.
Case in point is the parent teacher meeting that sees Rudd and Mann leaving together but splitting into separate vehicles.
It's not a subtle image but the lead up that fools us into thinking we have seen a quick resolution to the problems they are dealing with is well done and makes the payoff work.
The marketing pitches this movie as a comedy and this could prove to be a mistake.
There are laughs for sure but anyone expecting "The Forty Year Old Virgin" or "Knocked Up" may be disappointed.
Rudd and Mann are funny but Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd take the comedy honours.
Stay for the first few minutes of the end credits for some incredible ad-libbing from McCarthy that leaves Rudd and Mann struggling to keep the tears from rolling down their cheeks.
Mostly the focus is on a couple struggling with lost youth, wondering if they are together for the right reasons.
With excellent work from young Ryan Lee ("Super 8"), a very good Megan Fox and a host of cameo's from the likes of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Ryan Adams it may be a case of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole but I like this movie.
It's a genuine, serious attempt to explore modern relationships and its intentions are good and its heart is in absolutely the right place.
Apatow is aiming for something different with this one and he deserves to be rewarded for the efforts.
He ultimately succeeds and this is definitely well worth a look.
I wonder if the decision to follow sideline character's in the follow up movie was driven by a desire to work with Rudd and Mann (Apatow's real life wife) or a lack of desire to do so again with Katherine Heigl?
Regardless, what we get is a movie about a couple (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) who have been together 14 years and are raising two daughters.
In the early stages it is constructed as a series of chunks of the families life seemingly without any narrative flow to it.
We see the every day stuff happen - family meals, work, catching up with friends and so forth.
On occasion we see the couple separately as they work out - she with her personal trainer- he with his cycling group.
It is such an ordinary slice of life for much of the first hour that I wondered where on earth it could possibly be going.
I should add that by 'ordinary slice of life' I mean for a well off Californian couple.
No surprise that a lot of the screenplay was inspired by the real experiences of writer-director Apatow and wife Leslie Mann who are certainly a well off Californian couple.
Not exactly easy for most people to relate to and this resulted in a bizarre up and down of disappointment / enjoyment for me.
 |
| Director Apatow's real wife and kids (Leslie Mann, Iris and Maude Apatow) star with Paul Rudd |
It is hard to sympathise too much with a couple who drive a BMW, live in a huge house, have a couple of pretty adorable kids and still find things to whine incessantly about.
I think Leslie Mann is gorgeous, talented and funny but she started to get on my nerves like fingernails on a blackboard very quickly.
Her voice seemed to rise an octave with each word in each whining sentence until pretty face and golden hair not withstanding I wanted to slap her.
I am an even bigger fan of Paul Rudd who can take even average dialogue and make it far better than it has any right to be.
This is the case here with some very clunky, very obvious dialogue.
You can see the set up coming a mile off in a lot of cases.
The old bait and switch reversal where a character categorically states one thing then immediately does a one-eighty is in evidence aplenty.
It is supposed to be clever and funny but it doesn't come off at all even with Rudd delivering a chunk of it.
But then a strange thing happened.
I started to enjoy myself watching this movie.
It could be that so much talent and so many story strands are introduced that quantity wins out over quality but that is too easy an explanation.
 |
| Megan Fox proves herself more than a pretty face |
Yes- she looks utterly amazing but she is clearly enjoying this role.
She is given some decent comedic moments and makes the most of her considerable screen time.
Her nightclub outing with Mann gives her the chance to display some deft comedic timing and she rises to the challenge very well.
The swimming pool and table scenes late in the movie in which Chris O'Dowd and Jason Segel compete for her affections works as much because of Fox as it does because of the reliably hilarious contributions of the two men.
(This scene really makes me want a movie with O'Dowd and Segel as leads- that could be gold)
With typically solid support from Albert Brooks as Rudd's Father and John Lithgow as Mann's there is plenty to savour at least in terms of acting chops.
Elements are overused such as the "Lost" tv show that eldest daughter Sadie is obssessed with and Mann's smoking and Rudd's cupcakes but for the most part it is a nicely observed portrayal of a marriage at a crossroads.
This one has a lot of the feel of James Brooks underrated "Spanglish" about it without being I think quite as successful as that film.
The odd use of the tagline 'The Sort of Sequel to Knocked Up' turns out to be completely accurate.
This certainly doesn't feel like the same world as the 2007 movie.
The signature Apatow raunchiness and frank portrayal of sex and relationships is still there but whereas "Knocked Up" felt like a date movie for sixteen to twenty five year old's this one appears made for people who are now approaching the titular forty.
There is a lot that will only really fully click for the older viewer I suspect.
 |
| Excellent support abounds with strong work from John Lithgow, Albert Brooks and the phenomenal Melissa McCarthy |
It is clunky for the first half hour but it endears itself more and more with each passing minute until the petty problems of the central couple become larger concerns as they strain the relationship and the family as a whole.
If I hadn't enjoyed the time with these characters I wouldn't have cared but I did it seems.
There are some touching moments devoid of the sort of overblown sentiment that often ruins such things.
Case in point is the parent teacher meeting that sees Rudd and Mann leaving together but splitting into separate vehicles.
It's not a subtle image but the lead up that fools us into thinking we have seen a quick resolution to the problems they are dealing with is well done and makes the payoff work.
The marketing pitches this movie as a comedy and this could prove to be a mistake.
There are laughs for sure but anyone expecting "The Forty Year Old Virgin" or "Knocked Up" may be disappointed.
Rudd and Mann are funny but Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd take the comedy honours.
Stay for the first few minutes of the end credits for some incredible ad-libbing from McCarthy that leaves Rudd and Mann struggling to keep the tears from rolling down their cheeks.
Mostly the focus is on a couple struggling with lost youth, wondering if they are together for the right reasons.
 |
| "Knocked Up" star Jason Segel (left) and Chris O'Dowd (centre) and both with Fox (right) are highlights |
It's a genuine, serious attempt to explore modern relationships and its intentions are good and its heart is in absolutely the right place.
Apatow is aiming for something different with this one and he deserves to be rewarded for the efforts.
He ultimately succeeds and this is definitely well worth a look.
| Rated | R16 for language, sex scenes & drug use |
| Running Time: | 134 minutes (2hrs, 8mins without end credits - stay for more McCarthy) |
| Starring: |
| Paul Rudd | --- Pete |
| Leslie Mann | --- Debbie |
| Jason Segel | --- Jason |
| Megan Fox | --- Desi |
| Maude Apatow | --- Sadie |
| Iris Apatow | --- Charlotte |
| Albert Brooks | --- Larry |
| John Lithgow | --- Oliver |
| Chris O'Dowd | --- Ronnie |
| Ryan Lee | --- Joseph |
| Tatum O'Neal | --- Realtor |
| Tom Everett | --- Pete's Doctor |
| Annie Mumolo | --- Barb |
| Robert Smigel | --- Barry |
| Charlyne Yi | --- Jodi |
| Hugh Fink | --- Boutique Customer |
| Graham Parker | --- Himself |
| Billie Joe Armstrong | --- Himself |
| Ryan Adams | --- Himself |
| Melissa McCarthy | --- Catherine |
| Graham Parker | --- Himself |
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