Director: Judd Apatow

Starring: Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd

Year: 2012

I thought it would be a good time to watch This Is 40, ten years after it’s release, when I’m approaching the big 4-0 myself, and life sometimes really does seem like a whirlwind that should be captured in a film for all to see.  Well, maybe I didn’t quite wait long enough, or maybe This Is 40 just isn’t a very good movie.  It’s not believable, not realistic, not what most of us are going through, and doesn’t capture the true humor/despair of getting older and knowing there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.

It’s been about 15 years since Pete & Debbie married & started a family, they’re both about to turn 40, and life isn’t exactly as full of wonder & beauty as perhaps they had imagined it.  Pete owns a tiny record label that is falling apart, Debbie runs a store that’s being stolen from, their teenage daughter is a nightmare, their finances are collapsing, and their love life just isn’t what it was.  Is this what growing up has become, one problem after another, with no end in sight, or does it get better on the other side of the hill?

This movie doesn’t hit correctly, it’s that simple.  I’m not sure if it’s tone deaf because it’s about a wealthy-ish couple who can cater parties with tents and own two businesses, or if it’s simply not accurate enough to what actual married folk go through on a day-to-day basis.  Apatow is often genius, always hilarious, but he gets this one wrong, with a story about people you can’t relate to even when that’s the only thing the film ever tried to do.  Mann is a very poor casting choice, she never seems authentic, and even makes Rudd seem rudderless, which is a feat, because we usually adore him with ease.  The side cast is funny, Albert Brooks is the star, but not enough goes right often enough to make This Is 40 palatable.

My rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

 

By ochippie

Writer, Critic, Dad Columbus, Ohio, USA Denver Broncos, St. Louis Cardinals Colorado Avalanche, Duke Blue Devils