On New Year's day, I went to see "This Is 40". I was going to go with my husband but he had an important football game to watch. I started to go by myself and remembered my resolution to sharpen my saw. I called a friend I hadn't seen in months and we went together.
The movie stars Paul Rudd and Leslie "Mrs. Judd Apatow" Mann. They are reprising their roles of Pete and Debbie from "Knocked Up".
Whenever I see an established couple in a movie I try to figure out how they ended up together. The bickering and criticizing couple are always a mystery to me. How did they get past the dating stage to marriage? Why did they stay married for so long?
In the movie, the implication is that Debbie got pregnant and they got married. But I still don't understand their attraction. Pete is a typical movie man child, hiding in the bathroom to play Scrabble and Bejeweled Blitz. Debbie is a control freak and list maker who seems irritated by everything Pete does.
The movie is funny.
Melissa McCarthy steals every scene she is in.
John Lithgow and Albert Brooks are great as Debbie and Pete's dads.
Paul Rudd is funny doing something I can imagine many men doing.
Jason Segal reprises his role as lascivious Jason.
Apatow and Mann's daughter's come back as Pete and Debbie's daughters. They probably do the best acting in the whole movie. The little one is great. The ghost cow scene really made me laugh.
Overall, I laughed a lot. It was very funny. The poignant moments didn't work for me. Leslie Mann can be a little shrill in her attempts to be funny. Paul Rudd mugs for the camera a little too much in that "yeah, but ain't I adorable" sort of way.
I enjoyed the movie and know it isn't high art. It was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment