The 40 Year-Old Virgin - Reviewed by the Five Paragraph Bitter Film Critic

I am dangerously close to declaring any movie starring any member of the Frat Pack as a must-see cinematic event. Steve Carell, while being one of the newer members of the funny fraternity, was a stitch in "Anchorman" and absolutely hilarious in "The 40 Year-Old Virgin." He's funnier than a hairlipped auctioneer.

As with any comedy, a certain degree of suspended disbelief is needed to really enjoy the film, but this one has a certain character to it that makes it seem very plausible. Carell's character, Andy, really appears to be a 40 year-old virgin, not just a parody of one. He's clean, almost childlike, and collects toys, but is not immature and irresponsible. He radiates a nice aura, albeit with a sort of creepy innocence compared to the characters around him.

And those characters are just as funny. Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd, Jane Lynch, Romany Malco and Elizabeth Banks are fantastic, and made their characters memorable without being too much. In-jokes abound, with strategic placement of Jon Stewart's America book, and a reference to Luke Wilson, a prime member of the Frat Pack.

The movie also features Catherine Keener as the love interest, Trish. She's either the ugliest hot woman in Hollywood, or the hottest ugly woman in Hollywood. I like her, though. She's believable. Not a plastic surgery disaster - just a real person. And she's a commanding presence - the woman can do more with a look or a hand gesture than the biggest special effects budget could make - but she also doesn't steal the show.

Still, the star of the movie is Carell, who literally bled to make this movie through the painful chest waxing scene. You can't help but to leaugh and wince at the same time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 out of 9 Whammies! I'd have given it a 7 because it does drag from time-to-time, and, the girl who plays Catherine's daughter, Kat Dennings, was born in `86 and WAY MUCHO developed, which made me feel kinda creepy in a dirty old man way, but the addition of David Koechner in a small role, the man who invented the Whammy, gives it another one, hence, the 8. --------------