Beauty School : This Is 40 (Unrated)

by Bored out of my mind 34 This movie was way too long and slow and summarizes everything that's wrong with America: people living above their means, bratty kids, etc. Don't waste your time watching it at home. Just go to your local restaurant, gym, coffee shop, etc. It's all there...

by CORunner39 I never write reviews, but having suffered through this film last night, I felt compelled.
This movie should not even be mentioned in the same category as "Knocked Up", which was funny. "This is 40" is deeply depressing, slow, dim witted, and vulgar simply for the sake of being vulgar.
I wish I could have my $5.99 back along with the 2.5 hours of my life that was wasted on this trash.
Time to call it quits Apatow!

by Broken Headphones You've got to hand it to Judd Apatow: he really knows his shtick and he sticks to it. Overlong, crass, adult-themed comedy-dramas are his forte, and "This Is 40" delivers right on par with his other movies. But four flicks into his career and it's a routine that has rapidly gotten tired, made even worse by the fact that this flick ultimately fails to serve up anything new, refreshing, or even insightful that the director's previous comedies haven't already offered. Sure, the movie manages to hit some humorous high marks here and there, but they aren't enough to make up for the remaining two hours we're inevitably left to face. At the center of "This Is 40" are Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann), the other couple from Apatow's immensely popular R-rated comedy "Knocked Up." After years of marriage, the pair is finally approaching the dreaded 4-0, and they're each on opposite sides of the spectrum. Debbie is strictly focused on changing every facet of their lives as a means to obtain a newfound "maturity," while Pete's dream job as head of an indie record label has seen him fall under considerable financial strain. Parental issues and a pair of squabbling daughters also add to their woes. For those not in the know, Mann is actually Apatow's wife and the child actresses who play Pete and Debbie's kids are his daughters. So logically, one can't help but conclude that Rudd is essentially playing Apatow himself. With such knowledge, it's a bit hard not to view this movie as anything other than Apatow purging his own bitterness and insecurities at the audience, with the stench of anger, regret, and depression almost impossible to wash off after the credits roll. Call it a study in midlife crisis or even a therapeutic exercise. Either way, at well over the two-hour mark, it's mostly a draining slog of an ultimately uncomfortable experience, especially with characters as progressively annoying as these. Not to say that Rudd and Mann don't play their protagonists well, yet as written by Apatow, this is a pair that can really test the patience of most viewers. Mann has always straddled the line between cutesy and annoying in most of her roles (firmly crossing over to the latter here), and that carefree, boyish charm that Rudd typically excels in doesn't hold up nearly as well here. Sure, many will end up commending Apatow's approach to marriage, parenthood, and getting older as "real" and "uncensored." Yet "real" doesn't always make for entertaining and "uncensored" typically loses most of its luster with a running time this brutally long (at least a good forty minutes needed to be cut from the film alone). As it stands, "This Is 40" is an endurance test of mistrust, stress, and simmering middle-age bitterness, layered by the type of crass and raunchy humor that's only laugh-out-loud funny in small bits and pieces (Melissa McCarthy in particular has a hilarious scene-stealer as an angry mother in a principal's office). If you do decide to see this film, just know that it's not a feel-good comedy. It's more of a tense family drama with a few comedic elements blended in. Still, if you're a fan of Apatow's perceptive brand of humor, it's worth a one-time rent at the very least.

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