The 40-Year-Old Virgin Analysis

The 40-Year-Old-Virgin (2005)

Directed and Co-Written by: Judd Apatow

Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen

I've come across this title a lot of times in screenwriting books, because it is structurally solid - it has one protagonist, (arguably) with a flaw - who is trying to overcome it. This film was also often praised for how it doesn't beat around the bush and is written to the point, and also how the title of the film tells you all you need to know about the film before watching it. The film sets up the protagonist right from the opening scene - he's awake before the alarm rings and he's alone, telling us about him. The film is sweet, funny at times and though I can't recall laughing out loud - it felt like I had a nice time watching the film.But, I've some problems/questions about the film.

One is that, suddenly at times - Andy has game and he talks to women super confidently, like the way he talks to Beth - that felt out of character. It felt like he has game, but he didn't have sex purely because of the circumstances, like how it happens with Trish's kids walking on them. This is not convincing because he's 40, and if he had game, then it wouldn't be the circumstances all the time. But yeah, he says that he stopped trying after a point. I liked that the encounters he has, are always risky and they push him to let go off his inhibitions and fears - and they make the film not only about sex, but also about letting ourselves loose.

I liked that they show us at the end that there's nothing wrong with Andy, and that he should accept himself - and that him being a virgin was probably even good because he will have meaningful sex from now. They actually show him to have better sex because they're in love, through the song. It's all good. But, it's quite apparent that the filmmakers chose the other worldview throughout the film to incite humor, and the they pick this righteous worldview at the end to give the film a politically correct ending. The Hangover doesn't do that, it shows the same quirk and madness in the ending too. Shankar's 2.0 also did that, they make fun of the birds when the robot is fighting against Akshay Kumar and then they give us a "message" to save birds.