There’s something symbolic in the sprawling mess that is Judd Apatow’s latest comedy.
Just as its lead couple are skidding rudderless into their fifth decade, This Is 40 drifts across narrative threads that never cohere into an actual story.
Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are approaching middle-age and wondering if they’re supposed to be happy. Pete is running his own record company, but only running it into the ground. Debbie owns a small fashion boutique but feels desperately short of glamour.
Part of the problem is that Apatow is not trying to tell us anything new.
His definitive title suggests we’re all supposed to chuckle along in recognition, rather than reel in astonishment.
Similarly, he seems afraid to make his audience think too deeply for fear of unsettling them. The message is clear: everything is OK. As such, it’s hard to invest in the couple’s despair when we know they’re merely imagining their problems. It’s also hard to care about their hardships when they’re zipping about in new BMWs and living in a mansion.
The biggest problem is that it just isn’t funny enough. Largely improvised, the film is only as good as its performers. The best that can be said about Rudd and Mann is that they’re likeable and, well, adequate.
There’s no doubt that Apatow has made a film that feels very true – for him, at least. But those of us who aren’t rich, 40 and American might wonder what all the fuss is about.
