 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
- Review Date: December 11, 2005
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 2005
Common Sense Media says
A one-joke sex comedy that is not for kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie is focused on a man's effort to lose his virginity. To that end, it leans heavily on verbal jokes and sight gags related to sex: crude slang for sexual activity, genitals, erections, bodily fluids, breasts, and dildos. By way of example: the first joke has to do with a woman having sex with a horse, though the language is much coarser and repetitive. The virgin and his three male coworkers/friends spend most of their time talking about sex, showing off or complaining about their conquests. They make homophobic remarks, go to bars and parties, ogle women (at one point, they see two girls kiss), play violent video games and watch violent (Dawn of the Dead [1978]) and pornographic movies. Women wear revealing outfits (one shows a nipple during a speed-date conversation), drink, drive badly, and throw up. Characters drink repeatedly, smoke pot, and curse frequently; one smokes cigarettes when he's depressed and another spends long minutes trying to put on a condom. Soundtrack features songs about sex and sexual desire (for instance, Missy Elliot's "Get Ur Freak On").
What's the story?
Embarrassed that he's still a virgin at 40, nerdy Andy (Steve Carell) only confesses to his electronics store co-workers -- David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Weeds' Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen) -- when they guess the (obvious) truth during a late-night card game. As all share boastful stories about their sexual experiences, he lets slip his unfamiliarity with female body parts and they make it their mission to help him "get laid." They're soon joined by other Smart Tech employees, including Mooj (Gerry Bednob) and Haziz (Shelley Malil), vehicles for ethnic stereotype jokes.
Is it any good?
A one-joke movie, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN follows the tedious pattern of other recent boy-man movies: crude comedy leads to quaint romantic resolution. (This resolution has the cast performing numbers from Hair, layering sardonic and psychedelic onto quaint.)
For all its raunchiness, however, the movie (like Wedding Crashers, like Adam Sandler's work) ultimately and predictably endorses very traditional values, even suggesting that boy-men embody such values in themselves (and really, bungling men just need to be nurtured by accommodating, self-sacrificing women). Andy's really a nice guy waiting to be found out. And poor Trish (and Marla) only have to figure out how to service him.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about virginity as a "choice."
How does the movie make the case that, despite his friends' ribbing and his own embarrassment, the virgin represents a kind of romantic ideal, an earnest, awkward, sensitive man in search of a life partner?
Why is it significant that all the different men at the store -- Jewish, black, Pakistani, Caucasian -- behave equally badly around women? How does the movie represent women as peripheral or comic objects in relation to the self-centered but also sympathetic male characters?
How does Andy's dilemma serve as a metaphor for other, more often acknowledged forms of insecurity?
How does Andy learn to appreciate his difference, even as he tries so hard to "fit in"?
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AGE
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Just the cover should make you giggle. This movie is super funny. Adults and teens will love it.
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only for adults not for teens at all
This movie is funny but when i saw it it was bad i cant even see it. To much language to much sexual acts . adults only
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How can you not like this movie?
The 40 Year Old Virgin redefines the comedy category. It is one of my favorite comedies of all time, and, I consider myself a movie buff. The sex and language are very crude, but that doesn't take away the fact that the overall outcome of the movie is beautiful and teaches great morals. I'm not saying show this movie to anyone under 14, I'm saying before you guys out there say absolutely no to a 15 yr old, watch it, and think of the overall message it's sending. Greatest comedy of the last 5 years.
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god funny movie
i love this movie parents no kids too much sex 16 and over
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Do not take anyone under 18 to see this movie.
This movie is totally inappropriate for anybody under age 18 in my opinion. The entire movie centers around a man over 40 who has never had sex. Therefore his buddies try to get him 'laid' every chance they get. So...there's a lot of talk about sex. There are some hilarious scenes, but nothing a child or teen should watch.
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this movie is funny just thinking about it but it has extensive crude humor that's not appropriate for kids but for mature teens it might be acceptable.
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Okay if your kids understand it.
Okay if your kids understand it, but otherwise, you will be getting a lot of questions from them about the content.
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I saw it when I was 10 and my mom recommended it for me then
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Good Movie With Conflicting Messages
This movie is absolutely hilarious. There are parts of it that are simply laugh-out-loud funny. It's not appropriate for anyone over sixteen and even then it's iffy. (I saw the cut version at fifteen). The virgin stays a virgin until he gets married but everyone else is a very sexually rambunctious person. It's a really good movie overall for some good shallow humor.
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Judd Apatow |
| Cast: | Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 116 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | August 19, 2005 |
| DVD release date: | December 13, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use |
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