Universal Pictures
134 min., dir. by Judd Apatow, with Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, and Albert Brooks

Aging is an enemy we all struggle with. Anger toward a faceless villain will ultimately be taken out on those around you, causing distress and upheaval to even the most joyous of marriages. Judd Apatow, however, wanted to explore the funnier side of things in his semi-sequel to Knocked Up. This is 40 delivers more laughs than I expected it to, but it also is another drawn-out feature with unnecessary characters that has become the stamp of Apatow’s resume.

Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) haven’t changed all that much since the events of Knocked Up. Pete now runs his own independent record label, and Debbie owns a posh clothing store that she never seems to actually put any work into. The kids have gotten older, introducing the pressures of dealing with boys and too much technology. When Pete’s newest venture into reviving the career of an unsung rock legend fails, Pete and Debbie’s world collapses into a landslide. From Pete’s mooching father, to the $12,000 dollars missing from Debbie’s store, nothing seems to go right for these two as they both turn 40, weeks apart from each other.

Apatow has become a slave to his own formula. Despite opening and closing on strong notes, the yawning starts halfway through this 134-minute comedy. This is 40 is filled with ancillary characters that signify a typical threat (yet ultimately pose no threat at all) to the relationship of a not-so-old couple who think they are past their prime. Bringing back Jason Segel as his creepy womanizing character from Knocked Up may add some chuckles, but it does nothing more than add inconsequential run-time, adding nothing to the story. I love seeing Chris O’Dowd getting more American exposure, as well as seeing “Girls” star Lena Dunham, but the inclusion of the characters and the well-known names playing them just interrupts the story and chops it into funny segments, rather than contributing to a well-flowing film.

There’s no balance to This is 40. At times it feels as though the most important goal was to be funny at the expense of all other aspects of a well-constructed story. And though it strives to be funny, the story suffers from odd faults that are never fully resolved. Not enough effort was put into tying together a proper story, and while the end result does deliver the laughs, it leaves the audience with a dissatisfying taste in their mouths.

People will get what they paid for when they walk out of This is 40. They’ll laugh, some will cry, and some little boy will hold his popcorn over his lap when Leslie Mann manhandles Megan Fox’s breasts. Laughs are one thing, and This is 40 does have its fair share of them, but that doesn’t excuse the see-saw nature of this poorly presented film.

—

Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache and the contributing film writer for IPaintMyMind.