Parents' Guide to

This Is 40

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Edgy midlife comedy has realistic relationship, thin plot.

Movie R 2012 134 minutes
This Is 40 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 17+

Based on 5 parent reviews

mommabrown
mommabrown Parent of 6-year-old
June 30, 2013
age 18+

Pathetic

The RedBox said nothing about nudity and even the rating on here said something like "breasts but none really". Sorry but that IS NUDITY! Children using language as well as parents in the movie in a home is not respectful...what a sad joke of movie.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
2 people found this helpful.
mom2fourgr8kids
mom2fourgr8kids Parent of 5, 6, 7 and 9-year-old
May 19, 2013
age 18+

Good for a laugh!

This movie is definitely not appropriate for kids - but it wasn't supposed to be! It has some dull moments, but overall a pretty funny movie. I'm only a couple years from 40... This movie is right on in so many disturbing ways!

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) have been married for a long time -- long enough to have two daughters, two careers that are somewhat less than thriving, a big house, and a big mortgage. They've also been together so long that the passion is waning, and they sometimes feel more like roommates than lovers. Judd Apatow's THIS IS 40, which centers on the week that Pete and Debbie are both having that momentous birthday, is all about the issues that midlife couples feel when their marriage seems like a business partnership, and raising kids and managing a household is a second job.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (9):

Apatow is clearly in the driver's seat here, showing cracks in a marriage that feels real while still delivering plenty of laughs. Rudd and Mann have great chemistry, and when they bicker, it feels just like two people who know each other intimately and are truly sick of each other. This alone -- and a glimpse at Apatow and Mann's daughters, who play Pete and Debbie's progeny to perfection -- makes This Is 40 worth the watch.

Just don't expect any earth-shattering epiphanies or any sort of offbeat, unique perspective that would elevate this to comedy masterpiece stature. This Is 40 dots all its i's and crosses its t's: The requisite joke about aging (and fear of declaring your real age), the fights between two sisters -- they're all there. Yet it is possible to make a really funny movie that's insightful, too. (See Steve Martin's canon, or most of it.) This Is 40 just isn't it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how This Is 40 portrays marriage. Does Pete and Debbie's relationship seem realistic? Does it seem healthy? How does it compare to other movie marriages?

  • Would you say Pete and Debbie are good parents? How do their relationships with their kids compare to their relationships to their own fathers?

  • Does the fact that This Is 40 is a comedy make the issues it touches on seem less serious? Do raunchy bits make movies like this funnier, or do they go overboard?

  • How relatable is Pete and Debbie's lifestyle? Does that fact that they're wealthy make their issues less sympathetic?

Movie Details

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