'This is 40' review by Captain Raptor

'This Is 40' review by Captain Raptor

This Is 40 is a semi-sequel to writer/director Judd Apatow's 2007 film Knocked Up, which I haven't actually seen, so maybe I'm lacking some necessary backstory and sympathy for Pete and Debbie, the film's protagonists. What I have seen however is Funny People, Apatow's previous film. It's over two hours long, tries to tackle unfunny subject matter in a humorous way starring a male comedian I think is overrated, and it's one of the worst films I've ever seen. This Is 40 is over two hours long, and tries to tackle unfunny subject matter (admittedly ageing is probably funnier than cancer) in a humorous way and stars a male comedian I think is overrated. You can probably understand why I didn't hold high hopes for this movie. 

The movie just about got over the particularly low bar that I had set for it. The problem with reviewing This Is 40 is that there's nothing technically wrong with what it does. All the flaws lie in what it simply didn't do. The film doesn't provide anything other than hackneyed jokes about families that have been made in every sitcom under the sun, and all of the main characters have less personality than a particularly boring pebble. There's no real plot to speak of; this is not a film about the family solving problems, instead they encounter problems, fight about them, agree to never fight again, and then encounter more problems, rinse and repeat. I understand that the film is trying to make a point about the repetitive nature of marriage, but it doesn't make for an entertaining viewing experience. I'm assuming the portrayal of the couple is autobiographical on Apatow's count, as the wife and kids of the family are played by Apatow's real-life wife and kids. This casting decision does This Is 40 no favours. Leslie Mann manages to show great acting ability during the film's more dramatic moments (her shining moment shows her giving a fully believable transition from looks of 'I'm going to kill myself' to 'Life is wonderful!' in about 10 seconds) but she isn't capable of wringing any comedy out of the script. Worse still are the children, an 'adorable' little girl whose job consists of not understanding things, and a teenager who freaks out about TV shows, which is a character I can definitely relate to, but there's nothing particularly funny about it.

The side characters aren't much better either. Talented performers like Chris O'Dowd and John Lithgow are given limp, humourless characters that they can't do anything with. This Is 40 seems to be trying to realistically portray the ups and downs of a suburban couple, but by being realistic and never straying into the wild, the shocking or the surreal the film is left with little to no comedic material. On a side note, it's also hard to sympathise with the family's persistent 'financial problem' as they clearly really bloody rich. Their house is massive, the kids have the latest up-to-date electronics, yet we are constantly told that they are under extreme financial pressure. The film's comedy never reaches a nadir, and while their are witty moments every now and again, the film rarely obtains any large laughs. The only exception I can think of is a fantastic cameo from Bridemaids' Melissa McCarthy, who spews out some ridiculously inventive threats towards the antagonising protagonists in a scene that I think she improvised. Other cameos, such as Megan Fox as (surprise surprise) sassy eye candy and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong playing himself provide one or two laughs, but for a film with a runtime of 134 minutes, there's maybe about 20 minutes of genuine comedy. 

Despite how little laughs it earns, the film is never atrociously boring, and between them the cast share enough charisma and talent to make this film more-or-less watchable. When it bears its teeth and is unafraid to be a little nasty, such as threatening children with cars or lines such as "Fuck you, Jill, I'm glad your husband died", a flash of Apatow's better side can still be seen. A poor effort from the man who brought us Superbad, but nowhere near the car crash that was Funny People. Overall, This Is 40 is quite like its portrayal of family life - often boring, repetitive and frustrating, but it's never bad enough for you to fully hate it.