Judd Apatow’s feature directorial debut opened on August 19, 2005, and made a star of its co-writer. Steve Carell plays Andy Stitzer, a 40-year-old stock supervisor at the electronics store Smart Tech who has never had sex. His co-workers find out at a poker game, and the movie becomes a rescue mission.
Trailer, via Universal Pictures.
A Sketch From The Second City
The premise started as a Second City sketch Carell wrote, about a 40-year-old man hiding a secret. Apatow cast him after watching his work in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and the two wrote the script together. Filming ran from January to April 2005 in Los Angeles and The Valley.
David, Jay, and Cal Give Bad Advice
Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogen play the friends who resolve to help Andy lose his virginity, and each has a different theory. Jay books a chest waxing and a prostitute. David hands over his pornography collection. Cal tells Andy to be confident and ask women questions instead of talking about himself.
That last piece of advice works. Andy tries it on a bookstore clerk named Beth, then lands a date with Trish Piedmont, a small business owner and single mother played by Catherine Keener.
Table: How Andy’s Friends Try To Help
| Character | Actor | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| David | Paul Rudd | Pornography collection, speed dating | Embarrassing |
| Jay | Romany Malco | Social events, chest waxing, a prostitute | Embarrassing |
| Cal | Seth Rogen | Confidence, ask questions | Works |
The 20-Date Rule
Andy and Trish almost have sex after their first date, interrupted by her 16-year-old daughter Marla. They agree to abstain until their 20th date, and the relationship grows from there. Keener’s Trish is the movie’s best idea: a woman with her own life who likes Andy rather than a prize he wins.
Numbers Behind The Comedy
- Release date: August 19, 2005
- Runtime: 116 minutes
- Budget: $26 million
- Worldwide gross: over $177 million
- Metacritic: 73/100
What The Raunch Is For
The jokes are crude and the film knows it. Some conservative commentators objected to the humor, which is fair enough as a description and wrong as a complaint. The raunch exists to make Andy’s decency look like a choice rather than an accident.
Where It Lands
The 40-Year-Old Virgin runs 116 minutes and earns most of them. Carell won MTV Movie & TV Awards and Golden Schmoes recognition for the role; Keener took honors from the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. The AFI named it one of 2005’s Top 10 Films. It is a romantic comedy that treats its virgin like a person, and that remains the hard part.
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