DVD Review The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It
Directed by: Craig Moss Cast: Bryan Callen, Noureen DeWulf, Mircea Monroe, Stephen Kramer Glickman Running Time: 1 hr 25 mins Rating: R Due Out: June 8, 2010
PLOT: The popular films directed and produced by Judd Apatow are made fun of by grown men with the minds of 8 year olds in this spoof from the director of Saving Ryan’s Privates. If you think I'm talking about Steven Spielberg, reread that title.
WHO'S IT FOR?: People who take the phrase "I'm a kid at heart" to a disappointing extreme. Or, those who have really unfortunate luck when it comes to renting movies.
MOVIE:
While Judd Apatow may be in first place to tell you that writing comedy isn’t easy, the losers behind this witless parody would certainly be the last. Somehow the art of spoofing lost its way when it became too conscious of making fun of pop-culture, and this is a moment that also indicates the “spoof” landing straight into the toilet.
Another “parody” on work created by human beings actually worthy of financial support, its got a slew of lazy and predictable jokes that are often tests of our Gross-Out Meter, with an un-amusing adamant nature that continues during the movie’s true running time of 75 minutes. Comprising various characters from the Judd Apatow Universe, at times this flick feels like nothing more than a Grade-F Apatow Justice League compilation, but with impersonations that rarely remind you of their direct inspiration. There are a few moments when 41-Year-Old-Virgin attempts to recreate some key Apatow scenes, (buying booze in Superbad) but it hardly makes for even a lazy tribute or moment of respect for those who are infinitely better. The wit that could arise from poking fun at the extreme masculinity and bro-humor of all Apatow productions is lost in a script that tries to cram as much filthy visual-garbage as possible into any scenario (which includes references to movies not in the Apatow oeuvre, like There Will Be Blood and Star Wars). It takes the easy way out from thinking of fresh humor, and just throws whatever bodily function it can on screen. Spoiler alert - there’s a minute-long scene of ejaculation.
Surprisingly, this mess is a tad above something like Meet the Spartans, which is not only one of the worst attempts at spoofing ever concocted, but seriously one of the worst movies ever made. Compared to that flick, which was released onto the multiplex by the same clowns who made Disaster Movie, Date Movie, etc., 41-Year-Old-Virgin has a couple of more brain cells considering its attempt to construct a plot for which its random dollar store pop culture references can run loose. This movie tends to not just move from one brief jab gag to the next, but to create something that maybe works with the crayon thin story line. 41-Year-Old Virgin is of course blood-on-the-hands guilty of being boyishly stupid, but it’s the lesser of two evils. Then again, I suppose trying to defend this movie against Meet the Spartans is like saying an oil spill is not as bad as a wildfire – either way, they’re both terrible for humanity.
The level of cleverness experienced in this entire braincell genocide can be understood in the flick's lame name that attempts to compile all famous Judd Apatow film titles into one cohesive sentence. Good job, morons, but you forgot one: Funny People.
MOVIE SCORE: 1/10
EXTRAS
Bryan Callen: Internet Sex Deity - This is a brief extra detailing the past work done by the "star" of the film, and how a certain shirtless character he played on MadTV used to get him attention from all walks of life. "We got Poolboy from MadTV!" the executive producer says with excitement.
The Business of Gags - For anyone that has curiosity as to how semen and vomit can be made with movie magic, I recommend this extra. But for those who thought that a car full of puke didn’t make for a remotely funny moment, I don’t.
The Teaser: How They Got The Movie Made - Yes, special feature, how did this movie get made? Oh, I see. A band of dolts thought they could get this movie green-lit by producing a short trailer instead of writing a script (which with this type of "plot" would take way too long to think out, apparently). Here within this extra is their “pitch,” which did get this movie made, and it does feature a Steve Carrell impersonation that is much better than the one in the final product.
OTHER EXTRAS:
The Making of The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who ... Being Jonah Hill
EXTRAS SCORE: 4/10
OVERALL
The features total 45 minutes, which isn’t a bad amount if you find this movie to be enjoyable. But if you did like it, chances are that you aren’t actually old enough to rent it. At least, that’s what I'm hoping.
FINAL SCORE: 2/10