The 40 Year Old Virgin
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Judd Apatow
Steve Carell
Catherine Keener
Paul Rudd
Romany Malco
Seth Rogen
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Andy Stitzer, the 40-year-old stock supervisor at a Smart Tech electronics store in Studio City, California, lives a quiet and solitary life. One day his co-workers, David, Jay and Cal, need another person for their after-hours poker game at the store, and although they consider Andy odd, they invite him. After the game, the talk turns to sex, and Andy is asked to share a raunchy story from his own life. Andy awkwardly attempts to oblige, but when he remarks that a woman's breasts feel like a bag of sand, the other men realize that Andy is a virgin and vow to take him under their wing. The next morning, Andy goes to work and discovers to his horror that everyone at the store knows his secret. David, who is still lovelorn over a faithless ex-girl friend with whom he broke up two years earlier, draws Andy into his confidence and persuades him to go out with the guys that weekend. That night, Andy thinks back over his youthful experiences with women, all of which were so disastrous that he eventually gave up on sex. When the weekend comes, the men go to a bar to look for women, and Andy leaves with the drunken Nicky, who takes him for a terrifying ride before crashing the car and throwing up on him. The following day, an attractive woman named Trish comes into the store, and although Andy is not a salesperson, his co-workers push him into waiting on her. Trish has a store across the street, where she sells other people's possessions over the Internet. She and Andy have a natural rapport, but Andy hardly knows how to react when she gives him her phone number. After work, the guys get the normally teetotalling Andy drunk and advise him to acquire some sexual experience before pursuing Trish. With the encouragement of his new friends, Andy submits to excruciating chest waxing, attends a "speed dating" event and tries unsuccessfully to masturbate to David's pornographic videos. The guys even arrange a date for Andy with a prostitute who turns out to be a transvestite. Finally, Andy works up the nerve to ask Trish for a date, and she happily accepts. Andy does not drive, so Trish picks him up, and after dinner they return to her apartment and prepare to go to bed together. While Trish is out of the room, Andy tries to figure out how to use a condom, but the mood is broken when Trish's teenage daughter, Marla, walks in with her boyfriend. The evening ends abruptly, but Andy resolves to see Trish again and tell her the truth. On their next date, before Andy can bring up the subject of his virginity, Trish tells him that she has three daughters and a grandchild. She then proposes that they keep their relationship platonic for the time being. Andy is delighted with the suggestion, and they agree to postpone sex until they have been on twenty dates. With the pressure of intimacy removed, Andy and Trish's relationship thrives. Andy's career also advances, as store manager Paula, who has made her own sexual interest in Andy known, makes him a salesperson and eventually promotes him to floor manager. One night, Andy confides his dream of opening his own stereo store, and Trish offers to help him raise the money by selling the valuable collection of mint-condition action figures he has owned since he was a boy. When Marla insists on going to a family planning clinic to learn about birth control, Andy offers to accompany her. During a sex education class, Marla is teased by the other teenagers for being a virgin, and Andy announces that he is also a virgin. On the way home, Marla promises to keep his secret from her mother. On the night of his twentieth date with Trish, Andy is suddenly overwhelmed by all the changes Trish has brought to his life and picks a fight with her. He then goes to a bar, where Jay is throwing a party to celebrate his girl friend's pregnancy. Andy gets drunk and goes home with Beth, who works in a bookstore near Smart Tech. Beth is wild and sexually uninhibited, but Andy quickly loses interest and leaves. When he returns home, he finds Trish, who had come over to make up with him, inspecting David's pornography collection with disgust. Andy declares his love, but Trish runs out and drives away, with Andy in pursuit on his bicycle. After chasing Trish through traffic, Andy crashes through a moving billboard, and when Trish rushes to his side, he confesses, "I'm a virgin. I always have been." Andy and Trish marry, and make rapturous love on their wedding night.
Director
Judd Apatow
Cast
Steve Carell
Catherine Keener
Paul Rudd
Romany Malco
Seth Rogen
Elizabeth Banks
Leslie Mann
Jane Lynch
Gerry Bednob
Shelley Malil
Kat Dennings
Jordan Masterson
Chelsea Smith
Jonah Hill
Erica Vittina Phillips
Marika Dominczyk
Mindy Kaling
Mo Collins
Gillian Vigman
Kimberly Page
Siena Goines
Charlie Hartsock
Nancy Walls
Cedric Yarbrough
David Koechner
Jeff Kahn
Nick Lashaway
Loren Berman
Julian Foster
Loudon Wainwright
Lee Weaver
Gloria Helena Jones
Jazzmun
Miki Mia
Denise Meyerson
Shannon Bradley
Brianna Lynn Brown
Elizabeth Carey
Elizabeth Decicco
Hilary Shepard
Barret Swatek
Carla Gallo
Michael Bierman
Marisa Guterman
Laura Bottrell
Stormy Daniels
Kevin Hart
Wayne Federman
Ron Marasco
Joseph T. Mastrolia
Kate Luyben
Joseph A. Nuñez
Matthew Mckane
Rose Abdoo
Steve Bannos
Brooke Hamlin
Miyoko Shimosawa
Marilyn Dodds Frank
Crew
Gail Rose Abrahamson
Lester Abrams
Ava Aldridge
Dot Allison
Antonio Alls
Craig Alpert
Paul Amphoux
George Anderson
Ashlyn Angel
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow
Nickolas Ashford
Herby Azor
Kent Baker
Timothy Wayne Ball
Renzo Bartolotta
Willie Beck
Laura Behary
Bulmaro Bermudez Gomez
Michael Betz
Larry Blackman
Tony Blaszczyk
Leroy Bonner
Richard Boris
Christopher John Bostock
Felicity Bowring
Larry Boyd
Brad Boyer
Julian Bratolyubov
Melissa Bretherton
James Brown
Nathan Bruner
Dominick R. Bruno
Erika Bryce
Susan A. Burig
Bill Burns
Gary Burritt
Billy Burton Jr.
Dj Calboz Jr.
Lorrie Campbell
Capitol Records
Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Brian Carrigan
Peggy Casey
Casting Associates
Khia Chambers
Chapman/leonard Studio Equipment, Inc.
Joe Chiccarelli
Sonny Clark
Winifred Clements
Andrew Jay Cohen
Dale Cole
Rich Coleman
Helene Colesse
Juan Cordova
Russell Cowan
Custom Film Effects
Mario D'alfonso
Aqil Davidson
Raymond Davies
Jackson De Govia
Dennis De Waay
Eric De Waay
Jerry C. Deats
Eldra Debarge
William Debarge
Cosmas A. Demetriou
Brian Dennis
Sean Devine
Tracy Dixon
Peter Doherty
Eddy Donno
Tony Donno
Frank Dorowsky
Geoffrey Downes
Lamont Herbert Dozier
Amelia Drake
Pete Dress
Robert Dudley
Kenneth Edmonds
Thom Ehle
R. Ellen
Melissa Elliott
Dave Ellis
Andrew Epstein
Debbie Evans
Roderick G. Farley
Karen Faust
Tammy Fearing
Anne Fletcher
Jennifer Fleury
Andy Flores
Chris Fogel
Footsteps Post Production Sound, Inc.
Megan Forste
Tina L. Fortenberry
K. C. Fox
Steven Frohardt
Ray Garcia
Craig Garfield
Marla Garlin
Scott Garrett
Antonio Garrido
Stephen Geyer
Tim Gilbert
Bradley Good
Carol Grant
Jack Green
Peter A. Green
Ryan Green
Suzanne Hanover
Greg Harris
Alex Hepburn
Michael Hofacre
Wendy Hoffmann
Brian Holland
Edward Holland Jr.
Anton Lamont Hollins
Marqinarius Holmes
Antonio Hooker
Buddy Joe Hooker
Steve House
Marques Houston
Chad Hugo
Meredith Humbracht
Jay Huntoon
Jennifer Iizuka
Pete Jablonski
Tomi Jenkins
Jayme Jensen
Frank Jimenez Jr.
Fallon Johnson
Jeffrey Johnson
Allison Jones
Jerome Jones
Marshall Jones
Etterlene Jordan
Tammy Kalka
Nancy Karlin
Lawrence Karman
Jonathan Karp
Shawn Kautz
Larry Kemp
Scott Keys
Rihita Kimura
Alex Kivlen
Matthew Tucker Korte
Goro Koyama
David Kramer
John C. Kruize
Jason Kumalo
Gregg Landaker
Ernest H. Lauterio
Sabrina Lebrun
Al-rad Lewis
Raymond C. Lopez
George Lottman
Jessica Lowrey
Galt Macdermot
Stephen Douglas Macdougall
Mike Macias
David Macmillian
Rusty Mahmood
Andy Malcolm
Anna Malkin
Sean Mannion
Inga Marchand
Mario's Catering
Harrison Marsh
Cindy Marty
Steve Maslow
Joseph T. Mastrolia
Katrina Mastrolia
Thomas E. Mastrolia
James Matheny
Carol Mcconnaughey
Michael Mcdonald
Debra Mcguire
David Mendoza
Ralph Middlebrooks
Alfred H. Miles
Dylan Mills
Michael Mittendorff
Rufus Moore
Jon D. Morrison
Timothy Mosley
Dan Muscarella
Ray Neapolitan
Kathy Nelson
Sarah Emily Nelson
Cindy Nevins-coon
Darryl Nurse
Brendan O'brien
Ralph Odum
Randy Offer
Jamie Orendorff
Brion Paccassi
Ann Pala Taylor
Michele Panelli-venetis
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although key art for its DVD release, as well as many other sources, list the film's title as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the onscreen title card does not include any hyphens. The film ends with two choreographed songs from the musical Hair, performed in a park by all of the characters. The song "Aquarius" is intercut with scenes of Andy singing as he lies in bed with Trish after hours of lovemaking. The end credits include the following statement: "The filmmakers wish to thank Mark Burnett, Perry Goldstein, Michael McDonald-you rock!" In several scenes set in the electronics store, singer McDonald's concert DVD is played on the display televisions, to the great annoyance of the character "David."
According to production information on the film's website, the character of "Andy Stitzer" was based in part on a comedy sketch Steve Carell created while performing with the Chicago improvisational troupe Second City. In a Newsweek interview, Carell recalled that the sketch involved an inexperienced man trying to bluff his way through a conversation about sex, much like the scene in the film in which Andy reveals his virginity to his co-workers. Carell and co-stars Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco and Jane Lynch improvised much of their dialogue, according to news items and the DVD commentary by director and co-writer Judd Apatow and Rogen. The film marked Carell's first produced screenplay.
Portions of the film were shot on location on Ventura Boulevard in Encino and other sites in the San Fernando Valley. Apatow noted in the DVD commentary that a provocative billboard ad for a phony perfume called "Eruption" was displayed on Ventura Boulevard for three months during the film's production. Leslie Mann, who portrays "Nicky," is Apatow's wife. Nancy Walls, who plays the counselor at the family planning clinic, is married to Carell. One online source included the following actors in the cast, although some of them May have appeared in deleted scenes: Penny Drake, Jenna Fischer, Mandy Freund, Nicole Randall Johnson, Brandon Killham, Stephanie Nicole Lemelin, Jamie Elle Mann, Suzy Nakamura, Brittany Skye, Phyllis Smith, Wyatt Smith, Kira Turnage and Christopher T. Wood.
A August 14, 2005 Los Angeles Times article reported that Apatow held seven research screenings of the film and repeatedly made minor changes based on audience reaction. One particular scene, in which Andy watches a pornographic video, tested poorly until Apatow cut out the most graphic footage. The 40 Year Old Virgin marked Apatow's directing debut.
The viewed print of the film was the "unrated" DVD edition, which contained seventeen minutes of footage that were not in the theatrical release. In addition to numerous expletive-laced lines of dialogue throughout the film, the additional footage includes a scene in which a painfully aroused Andy calls an erectile dysfunction drug's help line after his first date with "Trish," various conversations between the employees of the electronics store and an extended fantasy sequence with Andy and porn star Stormy Daniels.
The DVD also includes, as added content, several scenes that were shot but deleted from the final film. These include a scene in which the police show up after Nicky crashes the car, then arrest Andy, who has reluctantly taken Nicky's place in the driver's seat; one in which an inebriated Andy sings "The First Time," from the stage musical Zorba, in a karaoke bar; and one in which Andy and his friends get high and share their most embarrassing sexual experiences. There was also a longer hotel room scene between Andy and the transvestite prostitute. In this scene, Andy is ready to lose his virginity, but when the prostitute admits he is a man, they end up sitting on the bed together, eating ice cream and watching television.
Critics generally praised the picture, among them Los Angeles Times's Kenneth Turan, who pointed out that the film had a down-to-earth poignancy within its frequently "raucous and rude" jokes. One comic scene, which was featured prominently in the film's trailers and television ads, showed Andy having his prominent chest hair being painfully removed at a waxing salon. In interviews, Carell stated that the scene had to be completed in just one take because it was his real chest hair being waxed.
The film earned $20.6 million in its opening weekend, according to Daily Variety. Screen International reported that The 40 Year Old Virgin was the first R-rated film since The Passion of the Christ in February 2004 to hold the number one box office spot for two consecutive weekends. In addition to being selected as one of AFI's ten Movies of the Year for 2005, The 40 Year Old Virgin was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics Association as Best Comedy Movie of the year and received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Apatow and Carell for Best Original Screenplay and a L.A. Film Critics Award to Catherine Keener for Best Supporting Actress for her work in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Capote, The Interpreter and The Ballad of Jack and Rose.
Miscellaneous Notes
Voted one of the 10 best films of 2005 by the American Film Institute (AFI).
Winner of the 2005 award for Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener) by the Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC).
Winner of the 2005 award for Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener) by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).
Released in United States Summer August 19, 2005
Released in United States on Video December 13, 2005
Released in United States September 2005
Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema September 2-11, 2005.
Literary Sale Date: 04/02/2004
Feature directorial debut for Judd Apatow.
Released in United States Summer August 19, 2005
Released in United States on Video December 13, 2005
Released in United States September 2005 (Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema September 2-11, 2005.)
