You know I've had problems with
Judd Apatow in regards to
the length of
his movies. They always feel 45 minutes too long.
This Is 40 is no exception. You sit there and watch, the plot sort of rambles on and on about married white people's problems, and you say, "This is a long movie." IMDb lists the run time at 134 minutes, 2 hours and 14 minutes. Again, I say that comedies should be about 100 to 115 minutes long -- laugh hard, laugh for a short time, then get out. Judd Apatow likes to go on and on. Shorten it, good sir, and you just may have something.
This Is 40 focuses on a married couple whose two birthdays occur in December. The wife believes she's still a young bird. The husband is still a kid but with kids; acting like a kid acting like an adult. They have adult problems: difficult kids, difficult parents, marriage issues, money issues. Everything white people have. Also, most other people. This is forty for real.
The plot meanders quite a bit. Felt a little bit like a french nouvelle vague. One scene to another connected by the slightest thread of following this couple through their birthdays. Sprinkled in is handling the kids, and the parents, and the jobs. It's just too real. Now there were chuckles to be had, but no guffaws. It's a serious comedic meditation of getting older. I think we're not ready for that just yet.
I already know about 40. Mine is different. Would it be the same with a wife and kids? It may be more hilarious.
3 of 5 stars.
Labels: movies, review
