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40 Days and 40 Nights
Miramax Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for strong sexual content, nudity and language
Starring
Josh Hartnett,
Shannyn Sossamon,
Monet Mazur,
Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Emmanuelle Vaugier,
Keegan Connor Tracy,
and
Vinessa Shaw
After his latest relationship disaster, Matt, a guy who's never been able to finish anything, decides to go where no man's gone before and make a vow: No sex. Whatsoever. For 40 straight days. (Miramax)
| GENRE(S): |
Romance
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Rob Perez
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Michael Lehmann
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: September 17, 2002
Video: September 17, 2002
Theatrical: March 1, 2002
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
94 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
80
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
It's very funny, terrifically lively and, considering how awful it might have been, surprisingly tender in its portrait of a young guy who learns sensitivity the hard way.
80
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
Can be taken as a mildly risque frothy date movie, but there's serious subtext for those who choose to look beneath surface sheen.
80
LA Weekly
Paul Malcolm
Hartnett's pitch-perfect sexual panic can be hilariously funny.
80
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
It's funny! It's not Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" or anything, but it's pretty darned good!
80
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
This is smooth and at times even sensual -- a well-oiled machine.
75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Hartnett shows here a breezy command of his charming, likable character. It is a reminder of his talent and versatility.
75
Miami Herald
Charles Savage
The quality writing, delivered by likable Hartnett and his talented co-stars, makes up for the sometimes flat production. A richly humorous background is provided by well-played eccentric minor characters.
70
Variety
Todd McCarthy
A self-described abstinence comedy that is funny, sexy and silly in equal measure.
70
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
The movie is both exhilarating and depressing. The trouble is, I can't figure out which is more important.
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ellen A. Kim
Mostly fun to watch, buoyed by some strong dialogue and performances by the supporting cast.
67
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
A kinder, gentler teensploitation comedy, but Hartnett's Matt, at least, invites the audience to graduate to something better.
63
USA Today
Mike Clark
Within a certain narrow range, Hartnett shows some comic flair -- though not enough to carry the picture over its considerable rough spots.
63
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
A curious entry in the current wave of raunchy youth comedies. It's refreshingly free of scatological humor, but even while aiming higher, it can't raise its focus above the belt.
60
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
Runs more smoothly and stylishly than the average teen comedy.
60
Film Threat
Tim Merrill
Any romantic comedy that lacks Meg Ryan can’t be faulted too hard.
60
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Yup, director Michael Lehmann, far from the glory days of "Heathers," has made a movie about a hard-on, in which he relentlessly pounds a flaccid premise.
50
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
Eventually becomes cliched, predictable and crude. And that's a real sin.
50
TV Guide
Steve Simels
This is a smart and witty romantic farce that mixes sweet and sexy with surprising aplomb.
50
New York Magazine
Peter Rainer
Sets out to demonstrate that life is about more than having sex. Inadvertently -- I think -- it ends up showing us just the opposite. As if we didn't already know.
50
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
This pretty but witless movie is well-produced, slickly directed -- full of jokes about hot dudes and hot babes pitched right at the "American Pie" crowd.
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
All this holding back is a bad idea, especially as the subject of an entire movie.
50
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
It's rare that a movie is so graceful and so gross.
50
San Francisco Chronicle
Carla Meyer
Builds up comic force in its first half. But then it blows it, leaving the audience feeling unsatisfied.
50
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
The film's biggest problem, however, is its naive inability to understand that sex comedies, to amuse, must be about more than sex.
50
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
Strictly for boys -- grown-up boys -- the more boyish and less grown-up the better.
50
New Times (L.A.)
Luke Y. Thompson
Even Hartnett, designated Next Big Thing last year, seems like he's barely trying.
50
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
If you're desperate to give something up for Lent, make it movies like this one.
40
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
Mildly amusing but wholly unnecessary comedy.
40
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
Doesn't do much to further distinguish Lehmann's career. As for those of us waiting for the year's first worthwhile date movie, the wait continues.
40
Village Voice
Dennis Lim
Roughly splits the difference between "Six Days, Seven Nights" and "9 1/2 Weeks." Which is something like the nth-order derivative of an infinite regression.
30
The New Yorker
David Denby
The sensibility of the movie is naggingly adolescent -- less erotic than squeamish and giggly. [11 Mar 2002, p. 92]
30
Salon.com
Charles Taylor
It's too mild to be crass; it's clumsy. Lehmann has made what amounts to an anti-sex sex comedy, the first youth sex comedy made to be enjoyed by those creepy abstinence teens.
0
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
So eyeball-gougingly awful that you're tempted to give up movies for Lent.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 35 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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