Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) has gone 40 years without "doing it." Now his pals are making it their mission to help him score... fast! Can he survive their hilariously bad advice? Will he land in the arms of the way-too-experienced or the way-too-drunk? Or can he find true love where he least expects, from a gorgeous grandmother (Catherine Keener)?

CRITIQUE

Every once in a while there comes a full-fledged R-rated comedy that takes advantage of the rating’s possibilities. From Judd Apatow, producer of TVs Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, as well as the feature film Anchorman, comes The 40 Year-Old Virgin, which tells a worthwhile tale of a man finally going the distance. The best part about the story is certain people can relate to the main character and his situation, and although his new experiences are fictional, what happens to and around him reels realistic. Steve Carell inhabits the character and his mannerisms paint a funny character.

Andy’s co-workers and friends offer him advice ranging from the extreme to useful information, such as always asking questions when talking to a woman. These guys don’t come off as party animals or obnoxious, like another comedy would have them, but instead they really care for Andy to succeed. Most importantly, though, the actors (Paul Rudd, Romany Malco and Seth Rogen) deliver really fun performances. The supporting cast includes the wonderful Catherine Keener, who seems really game for her role in the movie, a funny Gerry Bednob and Jane Lynch as co-workers at the electronics shop, and both Elizabeth Banks and Leslie Mann as two woman going on a date with Andy.

In terms of the comedy, most of it is pretty funny and stems from character’s dialogue and reactions, but there are also plenty of practical gags, like the opening scene with Andy waking up and going to the bathroom with a hard-on. The script is by Apatow and Carell, who find some good material to flesh out the story and advance Andy’s journey. Some scenes are a miss, however, because a lot of the dialogue is improvised. What’s funny to some doesn’t register with others, and there are a few times when that happens. Watching the movie a second time, though, made me appreciate the comedy more than I originally gave it credit for.

The Unrated DVD adds 17 minutes of new footage to the movie, which now clocks in at two hours and 13 minutes. At this length the movie is kind of reaching, because some of the new scenes don’t fit in with the pace of the story. However, other additions offer more character moments which flesh out the story a bit more. More to the point, though, the new footage features more sexual references. If you liked the movie the first time this new cut should entertain you the same or perhaps more, but those who didn’t enjoy the movie probably won’t find much new to like.

THE VIDEO

Universal presents The 40 Year-Old Virgin in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors look vibrant and crisp, definition and sharpness are solid, image quality is free of dirt or scratches, black levels are strong and deep, and flaws are kept to a minimum. Some grain appears as does some softness, but overall this is a very nice presentation. Optional English, Spanish and French subtitles are offered.

THE AUDIO

Universal presents The 40 Year-Old Virgin in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround. The dialogue is very easy to understand and comes across clearly through the front speakers, as does the score. The sound effects are presented with great bass, clarity and volume from all the speakers, including the surrounds. Also featured are Spanish and French 2.0 Dolby dub tracks.

THE EXTRAS

The audio commentary with director Judd Apatow, Steve Carell and cast is full of jokes, fun stories, and random observations and thoughts. Interestingly but not unexpectedly, we learn that a lot of the movie was improvised. There are a few times when you wish they’d offer more constructive comments, but in the end it’s all in good fun. The cast on this commentary includes Seth Rogen, Romany Malco, Paul Rudd, Gerry Bednob, Leslie Mann and Jane Lynch. Each of them contributes, but it’s mostly Rogen, Malco and Bednob who keep up with the commentary from Apatow and Carell. If you enjoyed the movie you’re definitely going to enjoy this commentary.

6 Deleted Scenes (12:45) are offered that you can play individually or all at once via the “play all” option. The scenes themselves are pretty decent, and are subtitled as well. The best one features the four guys talking about their first sexual encounters one night outside the electronics store. Another scene taken out was Andy’s date with Jazzmun, a transsexual, which he didn’t figure out until the very end. These also arrive with optional audio commentary.

The next three extras are scene improvisations that also feature optional commentary with Apatow and Rogen.

You Know How I Know You're Gay? (5:31) is a longer take on the scene that appears in the movie. There’s more improve here from Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen. It plays well, but runs a bit long overall.

Andy's Fantasies (1:59) shows two dream sequences in which Andy imagines porn star Stormy naked and talking dirty, and a newscaster taking off her clothes. This extra is exclusive to the Unrated DVD.

Cal & Paula (2:36) is a continuous scene with Seth Rogen and Jane Lynch improvising dialogue and making conversation that goes all over the place. It’s actually quite decent.

Advice from Mooj (1:23) is more of actor Gerry Bednob offering advice to Andy.

Waxing Doc (3:31) looks at the filming of the chest waxing scene from various angles; the production set up four different cameras for the scene. Steve Carell also offers initial thoughts for the scene. This is a small behind the scenes look on the set of the movie.

Date-A-Palooza (9:18) is an extension of the scene from the movie with more dating conversations and additional jokes, some of it quite raunchy. It’s also subtitled.

Line-O-Rama (6:19) is a montage of variations of dialogue from scenes in the movie. Again, this is the actors improvising and some of it is quite funny especially when

My Dinner with Stormy (2:08) is home video footage of Seth Rogen sitting down with hot porn star Stormy for some wine and conversation. It’s not that funny, but I bet the nipple on the nose part was fun for Rogen.

Gag Reel (4:35) finds the actors flubbing and forgetting lines and making jokes. There are also some practical gags such as Carell slurping liquid from a scene taking place in the bathroom (won’t say more than that). As gag reels go, this one is funny, but seems a bit short when you consider how much improve went on.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The 40 Year-Old Virgin is a fun romp, the story is engaging and the comedy is entertaining, though it took a second viewing for those things to set in. The DVD extras are good, but they’re mostly additional scenes with improvisation, and a real making-of featurette is sorely missing. Overall, though, this DVD is worth it, which is why I’m recommending it.