Directed by: Judd Apatow
★★☆☆☆
Apatow has previously had hits, writing and directing films such as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Its safe to say when it came to his latest film, This is 40, everyone expected a cheeky comedy, with some below the belt humor. This is 40 is deemed 'the sort-of sequel to Knocked Up' follows the lives of Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) as they hit middle age, and struggle to cope.
I was surprised that Apatow cast his wife and children in the roles of Debbie, and the two daughters in the film, as the roles are often unflattering, and there is an abundance of profanity throughout the film. Maybe it's just me, but I really don't find watching a middle aged woman swearing at a 12 year-old boy funny!
Whilst this film delivers the laughs that we have all come to expect from Apatow, the complete lack of narrative arc ruined it for me. In between the funny parts I found myself frustrated and slightly bored, due to the lack of an interesting story, instead it was a mixture of mildly amusing sub-plots.
Actors such as Melissa McCarthy, Lena Dunham and Jason Segel, all well-known for portraying hilarious roles, are under-used in this film. Instead the emphasis is totally on Rudd and Mann, and Rudd seems to spend most of the film on the toilet, which just wasn't funny after the first time.
This spin-off film definitely isn't as good as the original, and at over 2 hours in length, the jokes get less funny and it's almost laborious to watch.
If you like this film I recommend: Knocked Up (2007) - which is far better, Parenthood (1989) and Meet the Parents (2000)
