This Is 40 (2012); comedy drama film review

DVD cover artwork for the comedy drama film This Is 40.

Life’s Laughs by Linh

Director Judd Apatow may have a weird affinity with the number forty. One of his previous successful films was titled The 40 Year-Old Virgin and now we have This Is 40, the film promoted as a sort-of-sequel to Apatow’s huge hit Knocked Up. This Is 40 follows a week in the lives of married couple Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd) and their two daughters Sadie (Maude Apatow) and Charlotte (Iris Apatow).  The film is metaphoric of life’s cycle as there are circular/cyclical themes throughout the film such as at the start of the film, Debbie turns forty and Pete turns forty near the end of the film or Pete is often seen cycling around his neighbourhood. 

This film is set five years after the film Knocked Up which also featured the characters Debbie and Pete, where Debbie is the sister of Alison (Katherine Heigl) and Pete is Ben’s (Seth Rogen) friend. Other familiar characters who featured in This is 40 and appeared in Knocked Up include Jason (Jason Segel) the fitness trainer, Jodi (Charlyne Yi) who works at Debbie’s fashion boutique and Dr. Pellegrino (Tim Bagley) who is Debbie’s gynaecologist.

BIRTHDAY BUSINESS: Charlotte (Iris Apatow), Sadie (Maude Apatow), Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) celebrate with cake in the film This Is 40. Image: Universal Pictures.

In This Is 40, Pete no longer works for a big record company, but has started up his own independent record label called Unfiltered Records and his employees Cat (Lena Dunham) and Ronnie (Chris O’Dowd) share his philosophy of bringing back the old and making it new again. However, Cat’s eagerness to always agree with Pete, and Ronnie’s slack attitude places extra pressure on Pete amid growing financial problems.

Debbie has financial problems of a different kind as she notices thousands of dollars disappearing from her shop’s cash register. Debbie’s employee Jodi (Charlyne Yi) tells her that Desi (Megan Fox) has been stealing money from the shop, pointing out the expensive clothing, accessories and shoes Desi wears to work. To make matters worse for Pete, his father Larry (Albert Brooks) persuades Pete to lend him hundreds of dollars each time he visits, yet Larry never pays back the money. Debbie’s relationship with her father Oliver (John Lithgow) is strained and she is estranged from him after many years of being neglected by him.  She never asked her father for anything, but is strangely timid and hesitant in his presence.

Amid the family’s money problems, Sadie (Maude Apatow) is maturing into a young woman and secretly in love with Joseph (Ryan Lee), while Charlotte (Iris Apatow) is trying to be less annoying to Sadie and she’s not looking forward to being a grown-up because she thinks adults just argue and fight. Love, family, work and money all seem to become the ingredients of everyone’s life and if not combined properly, the end result is heartache, pain and misery.

FITNESS FUN: Debbie (Leslie Mann) is keen to get fit and fabulous with Jason (Jason Segel) as her personal trainer in the film This Is 40. Image: Universal Pictures.

This Is 40 takes the viewer into the intimate and sometimes embarrassing moments of Debbie and Pete’s life together as a married couple, and how they deal with each other and cope with their two maturing daughters. There is no plotline or clear narrative structure because the film reflects life itself as being unexpected, unscripted, unplanned and ever-changing. Although there are some predictable moments, there are also many little surprises that are unexpected but appreciated. The film shows that no matter how intimate we are with someone and how much we think we know them, there will always be some mystery and intrigue left in the relationship to keep it going strong. 

A sad reality in Debbie and Pete’s marriage is the acceptance that they are both to blame for their relationship troubles; and if they both hide any feelings or thoughts from the other, then the problems become worse. Perhaps the meaning of finding a better-half is not about your partner/loved one being better than you, but that person makes you a better person too.

PRETTY PEOPLE: Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Desi (Megan Fox) hang out with the young and beautiful people at a nightclub in the film This Is 40. Image: Universal Pictures.

This Is 40 features a supporting cast of wonderful actors and comedians that include Megan Fox, John Lithgow, Albert Brooks, Melissa McCarthy, Lena Dunham, Chris O’Dowd, Annie Mumolo and singers/musicians Graham Parker and Ryan Adams. Comic highlights include Melissa McCarthy as Joseph’s mother Catherine who lets off a barrage of insults and accusations at Pete and Debbie in the school’s Vice Principal’s office after Debbie verbally abused Joseph and Pete allegedly sexually harassed Catherine; Jason and Ronnie competing to gain Desi’s attention at Pete’s 40th birthday party; the hotel room scene when Debbie and Pete eat marijuana biscuits; when Desi takes Debbie to a nightclub where they drink, dance and discuss work; Jason’s training session with Debbie and Barb (Annie Mumolo), and all the toilet scenes featuring Pete.  Stick around during the end credits to see an out-take of Melissa McCarthy ad-libbing and improvising for the scene in the Vice Principal’s office, and you’ll see Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann trying not to laugh as well.

AWKWARD ACCUSATIONS: Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd) endure accusations against them by Catherine (Melissa McCarthy) in the film This Is 40. Image: Universal Pictures.

Perhaps This Is 40 is more like a spin-off film than a sort-of-sequel, in the way television series Melrose Place is a spin-off from Beverley Hills 90210 or Frasier is a spin-off from Cheers! It would be interesting if Apatow decides to do another film featuring the number forty. I suggest That Was 40 about some couples aged eighty who look back forty years ago when they were forty and compare how things have changed or stayed the same no matter what their age. This Is 40 is a brilliantly executed film that makes very specific issues between people appear universal and the performances are excellent with the comedy appealing enough not to offend most viewers.

PATRIARCHY PAINS: Oliver (John Lithgow) and Larry (Albert Brooks) discuss the pains of fatherhood in the film This Is 40. Image: Universal Pictures.

Director: Judd Apatow

Writer: Judd Apatow (screenplay)

Cast: Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Chris O’Dowd, Jason Segel, Megan Fox, Charlyne Yi, John Lithgow, Albert Brooks, Robert Smigel, Lena Dunham, Annie Mumolo, Tim Bagley, Melissa McCarthy, Joanne Baron, Graham Parker, Ryan Adams, Tatum O’Neal, Ryan Lee, Ava Sambora, Tom Yi, Michael Ian Black, Molly Shad, Tom Everett, David Wild, Billy Joe Armstrong

Producers: Barry Mendel, Paula Pell, Clayton Townsend, Lisa Yadavaia, Judd Apatow

Cinematographer: Phedon Papamichael (Director of Photography)

Original Music Composer: Jon Brion

Film Editors: Brent White, Jay Deuby, David Bertman

Production: Jefferson Sage (Production Designer), Andrew Max Cahn (Art Director), Leslie A. Pope (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Leesa Evans

Running Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes