Review: This is 40

             I really wanted to like This is 40. With Judd Apatow at the helm bringing back characters from what I believe is the best film he directed (Knocked Up), this seemed like a no-brainer hit. Couple that with the fact that that the stellar duo of Paul Rudd and Mrs. Apatow, Leslie Mann, were reunited on screen, there was no way This is 40 could falter, right? Wrong.

            This is 40 is marketed as a straight up comedy about the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged couple coping with the fact that the big 4-0 is finally a reality. However, the film plays out over two agonizingly long hours of Apatow letting go of some deep-rooted emotions that are the farthest thing from humorous. It reads like more of a therapy session, with the family unit (all Apatow’s, with Rudd in his place), venting their every last issue with one another amid an aimless plot. The pacing and arguing will wear you out, and the supposed jokes that one would expect from an Apatow production are so few and far between that they fail to bring light to an otherwise gray picture. I appreciate the realism of a married couple that is portrayed here, it’s just too much over far too long of a time for it to work. What starts off as a light-hearted foray into one family’s life is quickly clouded in a fog of depression. One would expect at least a bit of tenderness in a film about an every day family with every day struggles, but in place of romance there is only dysfunction.

            As to be expected, the bright spots in the film are Rudd and Mann, who do their best with the material and are as convincing as can be. Paul Rudd is nearly impossible to dislike, and his onscreen chemistry with Mann is undeniable. The two feel like a real couple, which makes the disorder that plays out in front of your eyes that much more uncomfortable. Albert Brooks and John Lithgow are superb in their supporting roles as the aloof and estranged fathers of the couple, and even Megan Fox does a great job flaunting her best assets to fit the part. On the whole, the acting in This is 40 is really quite excellent, it’s just a shame that the performances couldn’t have taken place in a more endearing piece. Melissa McCarthy provides what is without a doubt the funniest scene in the film, and her outtakes that play over the credits are worth a bigger percentage of the ticket price than the preceding two hours.

            At the end of the day, This is 40 is much more Funny People than it is Knocked Up, as it fails to find the balance between real life drama and escapist humor that Knocked Up hit so perfectly. I still trust Judd Apatow, and will still see almost anything with Paul Rudd’s name attached to it, but This is 40 is anything but what we’ve come to expect from their past collaborations.

Score: 2/5