40 Days and 40 Nights (2011)

An utterly atrocious film. Not only is the premise completely ludicrous, but the (literal) climax of the movie depicts the protagonist being raped -raped! -by his spiteful ex-girlfriend, who is awarded a sizable cash prize for her crime. The protagonist is then harangued by his volatile love interest for "cheating" and forced to apologize! And all of this is somehow supposed to be funny. What. The. Hell?! If the roles had been reversed -if the rape and humiliation of a female protagonist had been portrayed as a comical misunderstanding -40 Days & 40 Nights would have been barred from theaters for trivializing sex crimes and poking fun at their victims. How can anyone find this kind of sexual double-standard acceptable, let alone entertaining?

Any sex comedy that has come out in the past couple of years seems to fall victim to the same tired set of gags and cliches. This movie is no exception. While it's premise may be original, it's execution is all too familiar.

Sexually frustrated male lead? Check!

Neurotic female who, for some unknown reason, the male is attracted to? Check!

A bunch of one-note friends who's lives revolve around sex? Check!

A stock pile of overused gags including the vexing "boner in public" gag? check!

Predictably, Matt (Hartnett) spends most of the movie trying to tear down the walls Erica (Sossamon) keeps throwing up between them. Half the time I have trouble figuring out what the big deal is each time she storms off upset. Apparently this is very common for Sossamon, who's played the same damn role in every movie I've ever seen her in. Kudos to whoever mentioned the part where she storm's off, forcing Matt to apologize for being raped. If I was Matt, I'd tell her to walk her ass into oncoming traffic.

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40/40 is just another romantic comedy that borders on unbelievable. It's about a guy who makes the ultimate sacrifice to forego sex or anything related to sex for the duration of Lent (40 days). This started as a way for Matt (Josh Hartnett) to rid himself of his nightmares and sexual claustrophobia as he has "meaningless" sex with other women after he got dumped by his girlfriend. The office gets wind of this peculiar act, or non-act, and decides that it's worth betting on. In the course of not having sex, he meets a girl he falls in love with even without physically knowing her. Things just get tougher when people have money at stake and want him to fail, so there are many temptations along the way. Whether he makes it or not, you'll have to watch the film (or e-mail me) to find out.

It's not a laugh-out-loud type of comedy. It's definitely fun to watch and not crude in any way, but it doesn't stand out.

LEAP rating (each out of 5):

L (Language) 4 (lots of fast talking and witty comebacks)

E (Erotica) 3 (two brief minor upper-body nudity scenes)

A (Action) 0 (n/a)

P (Plot) 3 (you think he'll make it?)

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"40 Days and 40 Nights" is a crude, vulgar, at times I guess it can be described as an offensive movie. In other words it's a guy's movie lol. There's something inside me saying, it's wrong for me to like this movie. This is not a "great" movie. I know I've seen much better movies. I consider myself a filmbuff and have seen several American classics and well as several foreign films. But, still, for some reason, despite myself, I like this movie. Then again I always seem to go for movies like this. I like the "American Pie" films. I liked the first "Scary Movie". So there is a side of me that enjoys vulgar humor.

"40 Days and 40 Nights" as most people know is about a guy named Matt Sullivan (Josh Hartnett) taking a vow of celibacy for the lenght the title says. He does this because as a friend tells him "(He's) packed with issues!" He can't seem to get over his girfriend. Every other person he is with he compares to his ex, Nicole (Vinesse Shaw). But, the odd thing is, his way of trying to deal with this problem is by sleeping with them. So, he decides if he can get his mind off sex all of his problems will go away and he'll forget about his ex. But, he meets a girl, Erica (Shannyn Sossamon). Who just further tempts him and makes things worst for him.

One of the reasons I like "40 Days and 40 Nights" is that it seems to have something to say about teen dating and the importance people (of any age) have placed on sex. The film shows how that seems to be the main thing on both guys and girls mind's. There was a line in the movie that Erica gives "God!Why won't he just sleep with me!" That one line is a key line to the film. Teens and other people sometimes refer to sex as merely a casual act. Something you wouldn't even give a second thought too. I could if I want go into a whole moral issues here like, you know there was a time when people actually waited to become intimate after they were married, but, I won't. This is a modern world, with a new set of standards, no matter how bad they may be. But, one of the problems with the film is, after it lightly touches these ideas it stops!

Is this a movie everyone will enjoy? No. This is purely a "teen movie" If adults saw this they would just think to themselves "Is this the way MY kids are!? That's it, they're not going out for a whole year!" But, teens will like it, and who knows, if a couple goes to see this, it may even open a door to discuss what each of them thinks about sex. And plus girls will just like staring at Hartnett, so it no lost for them either.

Bottom-line: A good funny "teen movie" that actually does have something to say. I think both guys and girls will enjoy this one.

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If irony is indeed the master trope of the universe, as I have been claiming for several decades, then you know that as soon as Matt Sullivan (Josh Hartnett) makes a vow to stay celibate for the "40 Days and 40 Nights" of Lent, that he is going to meet the love of his life. That would be Erica Sutton (Shannyn Sossamon), who fate throws him together with at the local laundry mat. Matt knows that he is being tested. The problem is that pretty much everyone he knows is in on the cosmic joke.

Matt takes his vow because his breakup with Nicole (Vinessa Shaw) has left him a wreck. He keeps bailing out on successful dates and is becoming obsessed with ceilings. He goes for comfort and advice from his brother who is studying to be a priest and practicing hearing confessions. When he sees the banners for Lent going up he takes it as a sign and swears off sex, including foreplay and self-gratification. Unfortunately, once his roommate Ryan (Paulo Costanzo) finds out the deals this becomes the prefect opportunity to use the internet to get a pool going on how long Matt can, uh, last.

Now, for the sake of argument we will assume that Matt has no discernable brain activity when he is asleep (despite scenes to the contrary), so that we can have the willing suspension of disbelief to go with the film's running gag that has the hero falling part as he goes longer and longer without relief. In the real world this guy would be able to keep his vow and wake up without any major problems. But writer Rob Perez and director Michael Lehmann ("The Truth About Cats & Dogs") want to milk this guy's discomfort for everything it is worth and, unfortunately, more.

It dawned on me that this movie has is clearly bifurcated into the "guy" parts and the "girl" parts and the biggest problem with "40 Days and 40 Nights" is that the two halves do not fit together (as compared to "50 First Dates," which overcomes a similar problem and combines comedy and sweetness). Matt's friends and co-workers treat his vow as a joke and/or money making opportunity. This allows for lots of jokes and some prosthetic humor that leads to the inevitable conclusion that all men are pigs.

Where this film had potential was with the idea that Matt would have to date a woman without having sex, both before and after she finds out about THE VOW. However, I find it hard to believe that finding out about such a thing would really be upsetting to a woman, especially if the guy knows how to handle a flower (and Matt really knows how to handle a flower; this film must have given lots of couples ideas for similar epsiodes of flower fun). But if you stop and think about it the idea that a couple could have a good time on a date with sex or any form of physical contact has to be against just about everything Hollywood stands for (assuming, of course, they are in an upright position).

I was planning on liking this 2002 comedy more, but then somebody bad does something really bad without consequences. No comeuppance. No joke at their expense. No sense of outraged expressed by another character. Nothing. I was so ticked off by that turn of events that when the film cobbled together the requisite happy ending I was not really in the mood to enjoy it. But the filmmakers do get props for coming up with a nice little gift as Matt's final act of contrition.

Final Note: "40 Days and 40 Nights" was certified for 11 year old in Sweden, 12 years old in the Netherlands and Portugal, 13 year olds in Spain, 14 years olds in Brazil and the cantons of Vaud and Geneva in Switzerland, 15 year olds in the United Kingdom, Finland and Norway, 16 year olds in Argentina and in the Swiss canon of Grisons. I have no idea what to make of these numbers but they sure are interesting and make me wonder what is up with those Swiss kids in Grisons (was it the sex or the vow part they are worried about?).

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