Knocked Up may be the best comedy-drama I have seen in the past 10 years. It was such a perfect mix of the two genres that I can't see how anyone didn't like it. Now---there's This Is 40---being advertised as the "sort of sequel" to Knocked Up. However---while Knocked Up thrived on its own inventiveness and charm---This Is 40 falls flat under the weight of its own recycled ideas and plot. In fact---even the final scenes of This Is 40 feel exactly like the final scenes of Knocked Up. It's not even that I want to compare the two (although director Judd Apatow does ask for this comparison to occur)----it's that This Is 40 is a bad movie on its own terms.
The film follows Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd.) You know---they were the other hilarious couple in Knocked Up. As the film starts---Debbie finds out Pete has had to take a Viagra to have sex with her and Debbie is turning 40. Pete's 40th birthday is also quick approaching and they try to relive their glory days while raising their two very different daughters (Maude and Iris Apatow.)
I think if I were a bit older and could relate to these situations I may enjoy this a bit more. As I was watching the film...a man leaned over to his wive multiple times and asked "look familiar?" At the end of the film..they both found the film thoroughly enjoyable. However---I am not this couple. I am still in my younger years and have yet to get married or have kids. Is it such a crime that I wanted to laugh? I only really laughed once. This laugh comes from Chris O'Dowd as Ronnie---Pete's coworker at their record label. Let's just say Ronnie describes a neon sign and why it was not a smart investment. Melissa McCarthy---a comic force is in a couple of scenes that could have been funny but end up being just plain uncomfortable. Albert Brooks and John Lithgow play Pete and Debbie's dads and they have never seemed more desperate to get a laugh from the audience or a good performance from themselves. Also---Jason Segel and Robert Smigel---two of the funniest men working today bring nothing to the table as Debbie's personal trainer and Pete's friend and biking buddy.
Like I said---the film may have worked better had I been able to relate to these scenarios. There is nothing here that a 40 or even 30 year old will not like. However---This Is 40 was a desperate attempt to bring back the excellent chemistry that Mann and Rudd had in Knocked Up. The film is too long and with---as previously mentioned---only one real laugh. I will say that people under 30 should not see it because it will feel more like a cautionary video like the ones you see in driving school than a film to them. All the people over 30--you may enjoy it but it also may hit way too close to home for you.
(2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for sexual content, crude humor, pervasive language and some drug material)
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