This Is 40 (2012)

Judd Apatow is undoubtedly directly at the centre of the USA's comedy universe. Discovering and nurturing stars such as Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Jonah Hill, and with movies like Superbad, Bridesmaids and Anchorman to his name, Apatow has earned the power to make movies about anything he wants, starring whoever he wants. And so we have This is 40, the fourth film that he has written, directed and produced (after The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and the far weaker Funny People). Starring his wife, Leslie Mann and two kids, Maude and Iris, and filmed on the Apatow's street, this is bordering on autobiographical- even Judd's 90 year old grandmother makes an appearance.

The movie follows the story of Pete (Paul Rudd, essentially playing Apatow) and Debbie (Mann), and their two kids, Charlotte and Sadie (Maude and Iris Apatow) who we met as supporting characters in Knocked Up, and whose marriage is flagging after 14 years. The story doesn't get any more complicated than that, really. Watching as this well-to-do family of four battles through a plethora of first world problems- they might have to move from their big house to a slightly smaller big house, children spending too much time on the ipad, etc- for two and a half hours sounds like it would be agonising and boring, and yet it isn't. The fact is that this film is so observant of the upper-middle class to which it's characters belong, so honest about the little, everyday struggles that they encounter, that it feels like it's real, and real is funny. Even with hilarious supporting characters played by Megan Fox, Melissa McCarthy, Jason Segel, Chris O'Dowd, Lena Dunham and Albert Brooks, the real stars here are the family of Apatows, who nail the nuances of inter-family relationships, with Maude Apatow putting in a particularly brilliant performance as over-dramatic older sister Sadie.

This Is 40 has been unfairly criticised for over-dramatising the problems of a rich LA family, saying that the parents come across as mean and the kids as spoilt- but that analysis is shallow. This film goes deeper than that, the characters aren't upset because they're losing money, they're upset because their relationship is falling apart, that they have secrets in their marriage, that they can't be honest with each other. People seem repulsed by the fact that a comedy about the rich is trying to earn the audience's sympathy- but why not? Can a comedy only be emotional if it's about the poor? I was sure that films like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Lost In Translation had already proved that this wasn't the case. But just in case there was any doubt, This is 40 is here to do it again.

Fmovies: I watched this with my boyfriend, I have to tell you I was very excited to watch this movie. Not even halfway into the movie both of us looked at each other and realized the movie was so depressingly real that neither of us were enjoying it. We kept watching hoping to see it get better, it didn't.

Most of the humor wasn't really funny, it was too true and real to be funny. we found ourselves saying, well thats not funny, thats horrible.....

I truly regret watching this movie. Im just happy I waited for it to be a free movie from the cable on demand, if we had paid to watch this i would have been very upset

I made a joke in the first few minutes that the couple in the movie was us in 10 years to my BF... bad idea. by the end of the movie we both had that depressing reality that it could end up being us

Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd) are both homing in on 40, a breakthrough age, where youth is now firmly behind us, highlighted by their elder teenage daughter Sadie (Maude Apatow) going through her puberty. Far from a dysfunctional family nonetheless Debbie and Pete struggle to rekindle the attachment and mutual fulfillment that this marriage has brought forth. Pete is a loving father, despite the fact that Sadie was never planned, he affectionately tries to perform his duties, even if his love for rock music places him as somewhat of a family outsider. Coupled with his ailing music label, dedicated to the old timer music lovers, Pete is increasingly left alone.

In turn Debbie owns a clothes store, (wo)manned by the alluring Desi (Megan Fox) and the troubled Jodi (Charlyne Yi), one of them guilty of stealing profound amounts of money, thus further increasing the family financial crisis. Sadie, hot on the heels of her first period, is an avid "Lost" fan and is going through a period of teenage angst, which spitfires as an open rebellion to the actions of undeniably immature parents later on in the movie. In the background we have the star of the movie, Charlotte (Iris), an 8 year old with wit to die for and a knack for a short but pinpoint summary of events.

Much in the vein of "40 Year Old Virgin", Judd Apatow gets in deep with an odd mix of slapstick, vulgarity, toilet humour and the rampant Tarantinesque meandering dialogues. Nonetheless, where it works in other movies, the low-brow humour felt markedly out of place for the majority of this family drama, jaggedly deflating tension and dramaturgy in order to force a cheap laugh. On top of that Apatow attempts to overdose on sideshow (primarily unfunny) jokes, which derail attention and exacerbate running time. Nonetheless the movie has a pretty decent flow, but I found myself distinctly uninterested as to where the drama is headed, which questions how effective mix of comedy and social commentary actually is. One of Apatow's weaker scripts isn't helped by its predictability and overly sexual innuendos.

This Is 40 fmovies. Wasn't expecting much before watching the movie, but was pleasantly surprised. Firstly and most importantly the comedy was not lame. The jokes were down to earth, made sense and made me laugh sincerely. This rarely happens with all those stupid comedies nowadays. Secondly - the topic and the storyline was so relevant in regards to relationships and families of our society. Though it is a comedy genre - but underneath that you can fell that the problems and situations that are being touched are important and worth thinking about. The performances by Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann and Maude Apatow - were amazing. Paul and Leslie were perfect, but also my respects to the youngest cast members, as they were convincing and did their part flawlessly.

First and foremost, this is the first movie I have seen in years that actually has something to do with my life. I read through the threads, and I wasn't surprised that people found it depressing. They were probably expecting to see Knocked Up or I Love You Man. It lacks the stoner cool single guys being all zany about porn. Instead the comedy comes from things that forty somethings deal with: mortgage, kids, hormones, diet, expectations, etc. I rarely get to see a movie about people my age or having problems and solutions that don't involve guns, drugs, superheroes, cartoon birds, and people who have 8 figure life styles without ever having a job. Okay, so he's a groovy record co. guy, and she has a chic boutique.... Definitely way more California than my life, but still it is pretty real to life. I will concede that there are some gags that don't quite work, but like I said: I'm stickin' up for this one because I think it is getting a bad rap based on expectations. Thanks to Judd Apatow for making a movie about life instead of (hip jobs aside) hyper-situational life.

When first seeing the trailers for this movie i was excited because i remember this couple's story in Knocked Up and it was hilarious but i think that's as far as it should've gone and i'll tell you why.

First the movie, for a comedy, is way too long. 2 hours and 15 min is a bit ridiculous. because of this the jokes were dragged out and it caused me to lose sense of the plot. There was so much potential with this story line and i felt it could've been so great and hilarious but they just didn't get there. I felt like there should've been a bit more drama to their marriage, it felt as if they were trying to make it seem so realistic that it came off fake. a lot of the problems they were experiencing does happen to real life middle aged couples but not to the extreme like they portrayed it. There were some familiar faces and others were just random (megan fox) lol but i also think a little bit more development for the new characters and maybe the old would've been nice as well. I wanted to like this movie so much because it had so many good parts where it could've been great. Maybe if they added a small portion towards the end of the movie interviewing real life 40 something year old couples and had little exerpts that would have also made the movie a bit closer to home.

All in all i do feel pocket hurt for spending 11.50 to see this movie because i was simply disappointed. Would i recommend This is 40? Probably not.