Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 252 Ratings

  • Starring: Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell
  • Summary: A comedic take on a sweet-natured but middle-aged virgin who, through the well-meaning but misguided efforts of his co-workers, begins an unforgettable educational journey toward the goal of finally 'doing it.' (Universal)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 35
  2. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Buoyantly clever and amusing.
  2. 80
    Funny and realistically romantic, but almost never at the same time.
  3. 80
    This is a superb, delicately calibrated comic performance: Carell never allows the character to swerve into excessive cuddliness.
  4. Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    60
    Too long, too sexist, and too--shall we say--flaccid. But it has its moments.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 22 out of 162
  1. Rev.Rikard
    10
    The funniest movie in two years! Steve Carell is the new Steve Martin. He can just stand in place and cause one to chuckle. Though the male friends in this movie appear as adult adolescents, there is enough truth in their characters to reveal the sorry socialization process through which American men must pass. Sex is the most important issue in our lives because many, if not most of us were raised to believe this falllacy. As an American male I easily identified with Carell's character, If we were all gut-level honest we would admit that we desire genuine love more than anything. However, his male friends/counselors allow us to see the ridiculous perceptiions that would make being a forty year old virgin the most dispicable state in which a man can find himself. My spouse laughed as heartily as myself because she recognized that very truth pulsating from these exaggerated characters. This film is more than a comedy about a man finally trying "to get some." It is a disarming film that allows American males to laugh at our sad condition. Expand
  2. Does exactly what it says on the tin and delivers a story about a man who has yet to lose his virginity at 40 years old. Steve Carell puts in a hilarious performance as Andy, a single man living alone, who works at an electronics store, quite content with living his care-free, routine ridden life, riding his bike to work, routine morning ritual and so on, and this is disturbed after a small poker game involving his co- workers where Andy's little secret comes out.
    He initially panics and fears his life may be on the downside when David (Paul Rudd), Cal (Seth Rogan) and Jay (Romany Malco), his co-workers, decide to help him in his attempt to pop the cherry.
    Cue a hysterical two hours of attempts to find not necessarily a one night stand, but somebody who Andy can potentially spend the rest of his life with.
    The funniest parts of the film are definitely the interactions and chemistry between Andy and his colleagues, the dialogue in the film was quite improvised, adding much more laughter and various set ups that are just hilarious.
    Carell's character is the most grounded yet most interesting of the bunch, he perhaps thinks too much on a situation which leads to hysterical scenes (trading masturbation for an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond is a true standout) that gels the movie into a sense of realism of people's perception of virginity and sex in general.
    Jane Lynch has a small yet unforgettable part as the manager of the store, Paula, Lynch expertly utilises her deadpan humour to cut down her cast mates and sort of drift into any conversation and make it her own.
    The film has plenty of heart and sweet nature with Carell's character being at the centre of this along with his love interest, Trish (Catherine Keener), who owns the most pointless store imaginable. The big cast with all their parts to play can sometimes be overwhelming and at times dragged out, each character to tries to teach Andy their way of picking up women seems like it is starting a new story and therefore at times feels repetitive, but this certainly doesn't deter from the general story of the film, though you may see that it was perhaps too long.
    The film is well written, by Carell himself and director Judd Apatow, with plenty of improvised laugh and well timed scenarios that is sure to please the best of us.
    Expand
  3. Solid movie with some laughs, but not really much more. It's all about his virginaty and that's funny for some time but does not last until the end of the movie... Steve Carrell did a good job. I think without him this movie would be even more boring by time. Co-Cast was good as well only the storyline was to weak to stand the 90 minutes. Collapse
  4. Bob
    4
    Watched the "unrated " version. Beware. To sum it up it was repetitively vulgar, sometimes funny and overall a real disapointment since the theme could have provided so much opportunity to make a better film. Talk about over rated and over hyped. Expand

See all 162 User Reviews