40 Year Old Virgin

Renee and I went to the local movie theater last night to see it. We like this theater because it's a nice long walk and there's a Coldstone nearby.

Anyway, it's the best comedy we've seen in the movies in a long time ('The Aristocrats' was hilarious but I count it as a documentary). I always lower my expectations for movie comedies. While television comedies contain regular brilliance like 'The Simpsons' or 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' movie comedies are for the most part 'Anchorman'. '40 Year Old Virgin' goes way beyond my lowered expectations and shows what you can really do with a couple of hours and a strong idea.

Steve Carell is going to be HUGE. I first saw him on the Daily Show and hated him. He was constantly going over the top when that show calls for a very deadpan delivery. Thankfully, he got better. His version of 'the Office' will never get out of Ricky Gervais' shadow but it's surprisingly decent. Now he's proved he can carry a film. Ten bucks says he starts getting Will Ferrel's scripts.

Judd Apatow deserves to be bigger than he is. Look at this guy's roster. 'The Ben Stiller Show'. 'Larry Sanders'. 'Freaks and Geeks'. 'Undeclared'. 'The Cable Guy' (watch that again, you'll love it). And now he directs 'The 40 Year Old Virgin'. Some of the cuts are choppy but that seems to come from the improv feel he set. It really looks like he let the actors go and kept what was funny, not worrying so much about transitions. And everything comes out of character. What was the last movie you could say that about?