This Is 40
User Score
6.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 147 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 102 out of 147
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 147
  3. Negative: 28 out of 147

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  1. Bruce722
    Mar 28, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What a disappointing movie, This is 40 turned out to be. Paul Rudd is hilarious and he was the best character from Knocked Up. Then factor in the premise of this film and you would think the movie would be fantastic. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, Paul Rudd is still great but other than him, this movie is horrible. First of all, the most obvious flaw is their daughters' complete and total lack of anything resembling acting ability. Honestly, is was just sad. I'm starting to side with a friend of mine who thinks kids should just be banned from acting in general because they're that bad. While I don't always agree with that assessment, he could use this film as Exhibit A when making his case. Secondly, the film's plot is pieced together like crap. I'm sorry but there's just no eloquent way to put it. This film made me question whether or not Judd Apatow even knows how to make a movie. Scenes jump from one to another without any rhyme or reason and a good portion of the scenes could be completely left out of the movie being that that add absolutely nothing to the character or plot development nor are they funny. Actually, that segues perfectly into my next point. This movie was WAY TOO LONG and you feel every minute of it, especially for the first half of the film, because of the terrible scene transitions. My last problem, the ending was a joke. Did Apatow forget about Rudd being hit by a car door? How does the result of that not get touched on before the conclusion of the film? Bottom line, Rudd is hilarious and Megan Fox is absolutely smoking but everything else about this movie is a big disappointment. Don't waste your time.… Expand
  2. Apemonkey666
    Mar 31, 2013
    3
    It's hard to feel sorry for people who live in a $900.000 house, drive a 5 series BMW and a Lexus SUV, own a large heated swimming pool, use iPhones/iPads/iMacs, have a Spine surgeon as a father and who organise large garden BBQ parties. These 'poor' characters are bogged down by simple superficial problems that could be easlily solved and are plagued by their Mid-life crisis, coz their relationship doesn't feel as fresh anymore. Mediocre acting by Mann & Rudd makes you care even less about the outcome of this 137 min long self indulgent nagfest. It seems Apatow only had one good movie in him, so maybe he should consider another job...… Expand
  3. certified_hater
    Jan 1, 2013
    3
    In all actuality, I would have rather sat through
  4. lahaine2012
    Dec 28, 2012
    4
    Just saw
  5. Friskytiger81
    Jan 2, 2013
    3
    Not a movie so much as extended takes edited together (by no less than 3 credited editors) of improvised scenes from previous characters in another Judd Apatow movie. Like Funny People, this sacrifices story (and humor) for honesty, but the 2 hours of mean-spirited jaunt isn't worth the 9-minute payoff thrown together, nor the 2 minutes of outtakes at the end watching Melissa McCarthy improvise. Fast forward to her 2 scenes and turn the rest off. Waste of time.… Expand
  6. David_H
    Jan 10, 2013
    3
    Its not terrible but Paul Rudd keeps playing the same kind of guy. Honestly I saw it a couple weeks ago and I had to watch the trailer again on here in order to remember it. I do like John Lithgow and he was one of the more interesting characters but his role was very small. Also I'm not sure when Hollywood is going to learn that most men generally are uncomfortable with jokes about masturbation.
    It was just okay but very forgettable. If you watch a trailer for it, you've seen all you really need to see.    … Expand
  7. podriscoll27
    Mar 12, 2013
    0
    Utterly Missable. 2 hrs I'll never get back. Steer clear unless you enjoy watching a spineless husband and a psychotic wife repeatedly arguing and whining, with a halfhearted peace-making occasionally thrown in to break the monotony which it actually becomes part of. The cheap one-liners are too weak and too rare to offer any conciliation. If not for Apatow's previous successes this film would never have been made. 4 THUMBS DOWN.… Expand
  8. kurasanwich
    Dec 28, 2012
    4
    sentimental, sometimes funny, typical Aptow navel gazing about emotional discovery and maturity. Wish he would get over the mid-life crisis and make something funny again. It is comparable to Louis the television series in that it makes fun of real life, steals some of his jokes, and is a realistic humor on getting older, only not nearly as funny. It is well balanced in that Megan fox has few lines and is mostly camera fodder to make the viewer forget that he is watching a **** polished version of a boring married couple. Would have been much more interesting if Rudd and Mann actually tried to kill each other and not just joke about it. don't pay money to see it. online free version is watchable. not worth the price of admission.… Expand
  9. zachattack
    Jan 26, 2013
    2
    How did this movie even get over a 6 from the users? C'mon people. This movie is unbearable. Its 2 hours and 20 minutes of people yelling at each other. The characters are insufferable. I hated them all. This is 40 is not a funny movie. Nor is it a good movie. Skip it.
  10. luke_richardson
    Feb 13, 2013
    4
    Marketed as the ‘Sort-of sequel to Knocked Up‘, writer/director/producer Judd Apatow returns with his regular blend of bickering tragicomedy, only this time it’s more cantankerous, self-aggrandising, and most painful of all longer then it ever should or deserved to be.

    Full review here:
    http://theframeloop.com/2013/02/13/40/#
  11. Grim13
    Jan 3, 2013
    3
    Not even the stunning Megan Fox can save this film.
  12. nosecohn
    Jan 17, 2013
    2
    The opposite of a date movie... this is more like a "never date" movie. The couple at the center of the story get into an argument 30 seconds into the film and the squabbling never lets up. Eighty minutes in, one of their kids says, "I'm sick of everybody fighting." I couldn't have agreed more. Although it's true that a story needs to have some conflict to be interesting, the mistake Apatow makes here is thinking that more conflict means more interesting. Sitting through over two hours of miserable people blaming each other for their miserable lives is far closer to torture than entertainment.… Expand
  13. Boltfrowah
    Apr 13, 2013
    4
    Hmmm. This was a movie that seemed to have come out of Apatow's clinic of typic movies. This movie had his typical earmarks such as being a major platform for informing the public about his love of music to say the least. It was also infused with Paul Rudd's befuddled rants and Mann's classic freakouts. Combine with McCarthy's run-of-the-mill psychotic episodes, it was just too much of the same thing as these actors typically do in the other Apatow movies. Too much of the kids arguing, too much jokes that didn't land, and let's face it, if you're not married/have kids/and or 40, alot of what might be subtle humor just will fly over your head, but at the fault of not directing the humor in a way that us minority might understand it. The addition of Megan Fox was just insult to injury on that front. Overall, I didn't absolutely hate it, but after the credits rolled, it left me thinking "wow, that wasn't very funny."… Expand
  14. Seanebuckley
    Jan 1, 2013
    4
    This is 40 is self indulgent, silly and only occasionally funny. The main problem is its just too long, scenes dither and meander which ultimately detracts from any possible cinematic weight or substance. I have no doubt that there is a perfectly funny, astute 90min movie itching to get out of this fatty 134 min sludge of a film. A crying shame.
  15. watchman666
    Jan 21, 2013
    0
    This movie is so bad it hurt my eyes to watch,Leslie Mann is less than a one trick pony and if she wasnt married to apatow she would be dredging a living on reality shows....maybe.
    Paul Rudd looks a sif he wants to scream.."where did it all go wrong"!
    The only possible saving Grace is Mellisa Mcarthy who is always a joy.
    dont watch this, you will never get the time back!
  16. Jay_Sherman
    Apr 26, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't waste your time on this dud. Judd Apatow has made and/or produced some funny movies. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Superbad", "Bridesmaids" were all good comedies. "The 40 Year Old Virgin" was okay. "Knocked Up" (to which "This Is 40" is sort of a sequel to) was mediocre while "Pineapple Express" stunk. He executive produces on HBO's rather entertaining "Girls".

    The main problem with this movie is that the main characters are basically a pair of privileged, lying, mean-spirited, manipulative white people and it's really hard to care about them and their first world problems. There were times when the couple were almost relatable but then they'd go and do something borderline sociopathic and I was right back to hating them. This couple were okay as supporting characters in "Knocked Up", but really can't carry their own movie so one is left wondering why Apatow thought this would be a good idea.

    I am a parent. I understand what it is to love your kids and want to give them every opportunity to succeed in life. That said, Judd Apatow has got to stop thinking that letting his irritating daughters, Iris and Maude, act in his movies is a good idea. It's bad enough that the characters they are playing are given crappy material to work with, but it's made far worse that neither of these little hellspawn munchkins could act their way out of wet brown paper bag. Every scene they're in is excruciating.

    Some of the cameo appearances by Apatow regulars are fun. Some are not so fun. Charlyne Yi as Jodi is painfully unfunny, especially in a scene in a coffee shop where her character is high on oxycodone and starts doing these really bad croaky voices. Charlyne Yi is undoubtedly a better actress than Megan Fox, and yet Fox's character is infinitely more watchable and definitely much more likeable. Scenes like this one seem to have been written (or more likely improvised) in the hopes of making stoners laugh. I wouldn't have found that s*** funny even in the days when I did smoke pot.

    This movie stinks. Save yourself the boredom, pain, and two hours you'll never get back and skip this sucker...    … Expand
  17. the_daddy2009
    Mar 20, 2013
    4
    Bland, annoying and badly executed, Judd Apatow disappoints once again. If you liked Knocked Up, give this one a miss.

    These movies with family members playing major roles don't ever work, learn your lesson Apatow.
  18. sportygirl
    Dec 31, 2012
    1
    The movie "This is 40'' is such an aweful movie, such a piece of crap who are these people acting in
    the movie? D list stars! First off, it was all about filthy sex, and there wasn't anything interesting in this movie, nothing left to the imagination, just pure filth. And to put kids in this movie is beyond me. This is pure rubbish and I was very, very, disappointed with this garbage     movie. This was by far one of the worst, boring movies I have seen in a long, long, time. There, I got that off my chest.… Expand
  19. adriennevaur
    Jan 3, 2013
    0
    Probably the worst movie I have seen. What a waste of time and money!! Extremely fragmented, excessive, unnecessary vulgarity, no chemistry between the characters and not funny.. nobody laughed in the audience. All I heard were gasps related to the unnecessary vulgarity even from the children. I guess after reading all the reviews and seeing who was in the movie I expected to laugh a little... didn't happen. Not sure if the people that gave the positive reviews were paid off because there is no way anyone could say this movie was good.… Expand
  20. Mooseda
    Mar 14, 2013
    3
    I found myself smirking lightly a few times during this one. It was pretty boring to be honest. I found just disappointed after every scene with the children.. how does a father say to his young daughters that I wish they had a dick? Or the fact they yell out "I'M GONNA KILL YOU"! The usual manufactured Hollywood movie. This movie was filled with so much Satanic symbolism, aside from the main theme of the movie. Along with the cruel context between the people in the movie, it just shows how repetitive this absurd formula is. Of course they have the children act as little brats, parents glorifying them, speaking to them with utmost disrespect. This movie also endorses sex, power, and drugs, aside being “happy” all the time. These are all the same variables that are in most Hollywood movies that are used to inflict emotion to audiences. These emotions disarrays people from the reality that these practices are so disgusting. But hey to most of you I’m sure this is just another “conspiracy” lol, Educate yourself. Peace.… Expand
  21. Helium
    Apr 12, 2013
    2
    This movie is CRAP! I recall it being a comedy but it is just actors reading a script in front a camera. The only person who added life to this movie is Megan Fox...just saying.I normally like to watch movies that show real life events but those kids are just TV BRATS that would influence REAL LIFE BRATS. My opinion is this movie is
  22. SweetDaddyNugz
    Apr 29, 2013
    2
    This film was completely garbage, it shows that Judd Apatow can out anything and it will be picked up by some mainstream studio. This film is nothing like Knocked Up so if you are hoping for some similar laughs you are lookin in the wrong place. This movie consists of a married couple and moaning about life not living up to their expectation. Completely and utter crap.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 39 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 39
  3. Negative: 7 out of 39
  1. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Hughes
    Feb 11, 2013
    80
    With his fourth film as writer-director, Judd Apatow has arguably made his most personal film yet, without forgetting to make us laugh.
    Read full review
  2. Total Film
    Reviewed by: Matt Mueller
    Jan 11, 2013
    80
    Apatow's return creates a pleasantly sprawling, perceptive study of mid-life angst that never lacks for laughs. Promoting Rudd and Mann from Knocked Up's margins to centre stage proves to be a shrewd move.
    Read full review
  3. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Henry Barnes
    Dec 21, 2012
    40
    It's not bad, exactly – but it is boring and very rarely funny. This is laboured. This is aimless. This Is 40. It's really quite a grind.
    Read full review
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