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This is 402012 | 133 min | R | 2.39:1
As everyone knows by now, when Judd Apatow decides to make a movie, it’s never a tidy, easy event, but an immense outpouring of sensitivities and improvisations. The director is more of a wrangler, picking the best moments of imagination and vulnerability to shape the viewing experience, leaving the end product formless yet filled with enormous laughs and a manageable level of heartache. A spin-off of his 2007 hit, “Knocked Up,” Apatow returns to the story of Pete and Debbie, hoping to expand on the claustrophobia of their marriage as it slams into the reality of the aging process. The results are uproarious and keenly observed, continuing Apatow’s satisfying quest to inspect itchy human behavior with a pronounced silly streak. 
The big 4-0 has come to claim Debbie (Leslie Mann), who wants nothing to do with the age, calming her nerves with cigarettes and thoughts of a better tomorrow. Also sharing her birthday week is husband Pete (Paul Rudd), who’s wrestling with failure as his independent record label faces bankruptcy while his junk food addiction worsens. Hoping to set a positive example for their children, 13-year-old Sadie (Maude Apatow) and little sister Charlotte (Iris Apatow), Pete and Debbie look to shed their bad habits and directly deal with their financial and emotional anxiety, hoping to strengthen their tattered bond before middle age steps into view. Unfortunately, the task is nearly impossible to complete, with Pete’s father Larry (a wonderful Albert Brooks) constantly on the prowl for handouts, Debbie focusing on her own parental issues with absentee pop Oliver (John Lithgow), and the pair struggling to rekindle the spark that brought them together in the first place, with the marathon race of raising children and maintaining honesty keeping the married couple in a combative place they both dislike immensely. “This is 40” is definitely a comedy, though it’s a particularly uncomfortable one, especially for those who have experience with marriage and children. Developing his taste for the uneasy in 2009’s “Funny People,” Apatow mines the unrest further with the new film, asking viewers to sit patiently while two people verbally spar with anyone who confronts them. “This is 40” is picture about fear of routine, with Debbie particularly anxious about the future, fearing her parental and spousal habits are destroying her soul, instigating a sweep of changes that only cause more headaches in the household. The laughs come from these irritations, watching Sadie (who’s already a pubescent time bomb with a jonesing for “Lost”) snap when her computer time is reduced to 30 minutes a day, or finding Pete sneaking (and shoveling) entire cupcakes into mouth in private, keeping his cholesterol sky high. Debbie’s ambitions of mental and physical health only polarize the family further, allowing Apatow to inspect extremes of temper with his special comedic curveball. 
Stress hits from all sides in the feature, with the script plowing through sexual stagnancy, financial panic (which threatens to take Pete and Debbie’s house), teenage freak-outs, body issues, and a lack of relationship communication. It’s a chest-tightening movie to watch at times, maintaining a behavioral realism as the actors sniff out opportunities for improvisation, maintaining painfully human qualities that are braided gracefully into the yuks. Apatow may not have a unique point of view with “This is 40,” but his observance of marital interplay and daily frustrations are often exceptional, finding intriguing conflicts to explore that provide a journey for the lead characters as they struggle to define their union as age, kids, and complications cloud their view. While a large portion of the film is devoted to bickering and impatience, the effort never feels oppressive. Apatow doesn’t have much of a story to share, but his tonal balance is exceptional, teeter-tottering between laughs and distress. Being a spinoff of “Knocked Up,” “This is 40” keeps visitations from the previous picture to a bare minimum. Katherine Heigl failing to show is perfectly understandable, but, shockingly, Seth Rogen doesn’t pop in for a little mischief along the way. It seems like a missed opportunity. However, we are treated to the return of Jodi, played with mousy hilarity by Charlyne Yi, who’s now an employee suspected of stealing in Debbie’s boutique. Jason (Jason Segel) also returns as Debbie’s seductive personal trainer who has his eyes on the other store clerk, temptress Desi (Megan Fox). Newcomers to the narrative include Chris O’Dowd, Robert Smigel, Lena Dunham, Annie Mumolo, and Melissa McCarthy, who has an amusing cameo as a mother of a schoolboy Debbie openly threatens after hearing of his online misconduct toward Sadie. 
“This is 40” belongs to Rudd and Mann, who seem like a real married couple at times, with Pete and Debbie’s deconstruction of personal weaknesses and bad habits naturally communicated with equal parts concern and disdain. Rudd has the sillier role, but his interpretation of Pete’s drive to preserve his youth through music appreciation and hair growth is smartly played, giving the character more of a subtle open wound presence, trying to compute his powerlessness around his wife. Mann steals the feature outright with her manic, bewildered take on life’s roadblocks, playing the control freak with alarming precision and authentic ache. Debbie is a difficult character, with Mann and Apatow working to prevent an outright dismissal of her concerns by keeping the wife and mother credibly fried yet hopeful, culminating in a scene where Debbie receives special sock-in-the-gut news from her doctor. Mann’s acting in this awkward moment is extraordinary, summing up the emotional complications that keep “This is 40” brimming with personality. Fatherly issues swarm the final act, observing Pete and Debbie deal with their troubled parents as tensions boil over. Apatow doesn’t nail down a satisfactory ending, but he does the best he can with such chaos flying around the feature. That there’s an ending at all is something of a miracle, with “This is 40” a difficult narrative challenge, working to remain on family combustibility while keeping tabs on numerous supporting characters. It’s on the sloppy side, yet Apatow’s wit and meticulous note-taking during his own marriage (to Mann) pays off with a seasoned look at the politics of coupling and its emotional bonds, finding love behind fear and laughs behind discomfort. Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Megan Fox, Jason Segel, Robert Smigel, Annie Mumolo Director: Judd Apatow » See full cast & crew |
 
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