This is 40 is Judd Apatow's new comedic film about aging in our contemporary electronic society. Some pathos, some laughs and some nonsense is propagated.
Movies like this tend to make me feel inadequate. There are myriad moments that convey reality, albeit in a superficial way, that tend to induce empathy and likewise contempt. I'm scared to get older. It's unfair and frightening especially if you feel you have not succeed at any goal attempted, many times, with naive bliss. Nonetheless, I can relate to Paul Rudd this time round. He plays a goofy father that pursued his musical passion which is currently failing as a business. Leslie Mann plays a working house mom that, like all women in particular, wish not to be aging. It's incredibly easy to see why.
The cast is full of current comedic characters and a number from the previous "sort-of sequel", Knocked Up. Both Albert Brooks and John Lithgow fill their stereotypical antifather roles very well. This is life—not at 40—but always... rife with daddy issues. The odd thing about it is that these people, at 40, look amazing, unlike many at 40, which takes away from accepting the message as a serious comment. Melissa McCarthy makes this apparent at the end with a number of self reflexive jabs. To sum up, there are a few inside jokes that are common throughout and fun, a mass of gratuity and some social issues of note delivered by a host of familiar faces. Overall, I enjoyed the film and would view it again. It is rather overtly coarse in nature so the under 10's should probably be kept at bay.
Recommended Viewing: Knocked Up - Funny People - Wet Hot American Summer
Bob Scale: The Critic: 6.9 - The Fan: 7.7
MetaCritic: 58
Rotten Tomatoes: 50
IMDB: 6.3
