![]() But you know that such escapades will only end in disaster, as proved by one date with Nicky (Leslie Mann), who puts Andy through the worst drunk-driving experience I think anyone would not want to go through and he has a rather creepy encounter with Beth (Elizabeth Banks), the pretty girl who works in the bookstore and is eventually revealed to be a total sex fiend. David, Jay, and Cal each embark on a mission to get Andy laid, so help them all. The truth is, Andy loves women, but past traumatic experiences (revealed hilariously one after the other in a flashback sequence) have put him on the sidelines for good. When it's first discovered Andy is a virgin, at 40, his three buddies and fellow electronics store coworkers David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco) and Cal (Seth Rogen) all at first assume he's gay because he's never been with a woman, which couldn't be any further from the truth. A bit arrogant, I know, but would you ("you" is italicized) still be able to relate if you were the only teen present at an afternoon screening of "The 40 Year-Old Virgin"? Of course Andy has never had sex and wakes up everyday with "morning rise" (don't ask), and he's pressured by his buddies to try outlandish methods of gaining the attention of the opposite sex. I was able to relate to the character of Andy Stitzer more than anyone in the theater because I was the only teenager present at this showing everyone else looked like they were all past 40. As someone who is rapidly approaching 20, collects McFarlane Toys action figures AND has himself never done the deed, I found this film amusing and touching in a way that a similar-themed movie could never have been. Sure there are sex jokes here and there and even a few prods are aimed at the gay community (which are, in no way, meant to be taken as gay-bashing), as two of the characters exchange insults towards each other while playing a video game ("Mortal Kombat: Deception," no less - the ultimate testosterone-driven fightfest for guys). It could have descended into endless sex gags and jokes but thankfully this picture never stoops that low. This is a movie that could very easily have turned out a lot differently in the hands of a more transparent team of filmmakers. Now here's the real novelty with this picture: it does the impossible task of actually dealing with its subject matter in a cute, mature fashion. He's a pretty picturesque definition of the Lonely Guy who needs to go out more and talk to more women. He has a lovely home theater system and watches "Survivor" with his two kind elderly neighbors. What's more, there's a movie out about it, and it's called "The 40 Year-old Virgin." The virgin of the title is Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell), who is indeed 40, works as an employee at an electronics store and collects vintage action figures, which are displayed all throughout his nice bachelor pad for all to see. And then the unexpected happens: he falls in love. Too many past bad experiences have dampened his enthusiasm to the point that he avoids women completely. In the previews, "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" boasts the image of another immature sex romp about a 40-ish Lonely Guy who suddenly feels the urge to do the deed simply because he hasn't.
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