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Movies from the couch: This is 40
May. 23rd, 2013 05:37 pmSo as I just turned 39, why not rent This is 40.
This is 40 may be the worst kind of movie. It has potential.
I like Judd Apatow for the most part and it really is hard to hate him for trying to stretch and head into Paul Thomas Anderson or David O Russell territory, trying to make smart comedy.
It's hard to hate the movie (which didn't do well with critics or the box office) as there are some moments that are laugh out loud funny, and it's got a supporting cast any director would kill for- Melissa Mccarthy, Albert Brooks, Robert Smigel, John Lithgow, Jason Segel, and for eye candy, Megan Fox.
Also, aging indie rockers will surely love Paul Rudd struggling with the fact that his wife and kids don't like The Pixies' "Debaser'. He is a struggling record label owner who is trying to hit big sales by reuniting Graham Parker and the Rumour. Parker is a scene stealer throughout the movie playing himself.
Plenty of IMDB amateur reviewers complain that Rudd and Leslie Mann's lead characters are 'rich, beautiful white people with problems", but such is independent film. I don't have a problem with that. They both are making mistakes that could be easily fixed, but they still feel 'real world'.
The problem that the movie probably suffers the most from is that it is 2 hours and 15 minutes long. This isn't Lincoln we're talking about. This is a film with Jason Segel.
Perhaps, Apatow should be commended for his ambition, but it's the movie's biggest problem. Even the most patient viewer will be stretched. He either needed to weed out his plot or developed this on out into a television miniseries.
In which case, by standard rules, this film can't get a recommendation from me. Were it 90 minutes of laughs, then it would qualify like Knocked Up as fun Sunday afternoon viewing. It's funny in parts, but isn't particularly a movie you would ever want to see again. Failing that, if this movie left you with some transcending feeling like Silver Linings Playbook or Punch Drunk Love, then that would also be acceptable. Despite Apatow's best intentions, it's hard to get that drawn into his characters. They are mostly sympathetic, but their troubles are best dealt in a humorous way as opposed to the seriousness this film tries to give them.
Like the Five Year Engagement, it has a lot going for it, but could not pull off what it was trying to do.
This is 40 may be the worst kind of movie. It has potential.
I like Judd Apatow for the most part and it really is hard to hate him for trying to stretch and head into Paul Thomas Anderson or David O Russell territory, trying to make smart comedy.
It's hard to hate the movie (which didn't do well with critics or the box office) as there are some moments that are laugh out loud funny, and it's got a supporting cast any director would kill for- Melissa Mccarthy, Albert Brooks, Robert Smigel, John Lithgow, Jason Segel, and for eye candy, Megan Fox.
Also, aging indie rockers will surely love Paul Rudd struggling with the fact that his wife and kids don't like The Pixies' "Debaser'. He is a struggling record label owner who is trying to hit big sales by reuniting Graham Parker and the Rumour. Parker is a scene stealer throughout the movie playing himself.
Plenty of IMDB amateur reviewers complain that Rudd and Leslie Mann's lead characters are 'rich, beautiful white people with problems", but such is independent film. I don't have a problem with that. They both are making mistakes that could be easily fixed, but they still feel 'real world'.
The problem that the movie probably suffers the most from is that it is 2 hours and 15 minutes long. This isn't Lincoln we're talking about. This is a film with Jason Segel.
Perhaps, Apatow should be commended for his ambition, but it's the movie's biggest problem. Even the most patient viewer will be stretched. He either needed to weed out his plot or developed this on out into a television miniseries.
In which case, by standard rules, this film can't get a recommendation from me. Were it 90 minutes of laughs, then it would qualify like Knocked Up as fun Sunday afternoon viewing. It's funny in parts, but isn't particularly a movie you would ever want to see again. Failing that, if this movie left you with some transcending feeling like Silver Linings Playbook or Punch Drunk Love, then that would also be acceptable. Despite Apatow's best intentions, it's hard to get that drawn into his characters. They are mostly sympathetic, but their troubles are best dealt in a humorous way as opposed to the seriousness this film tries to give them.
Like the Five Year Engagement, it has a lot going for it, but could not pull off what it was trying to do.
