This is 40

Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann and Jason Segel
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Runtime: 134 mins. Reviewed in Jan 2013

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Rating notes: Strong sexual references and coarse language

This is 40 – well, not exactly.

Unless you are a husband and wife who have their 40th birthday in the same week, are comfortably middle class despite business difficulties, who have a 13 year old strong-minded daughter and an 8 year old cheeky daughter, who fight and make-up and who have very difficult relationships with their fathers. But that is Pete and Debbie (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann who appeared in a sub-plot in Apatow’s Knocked Up and now have their own movie), with their daughters, Sadie and Charlotte (Apatow’s own daughters – Leslie Mann is Apatow’s actual wife).

For audiences between, say, thirty and forty five, who share the comparative comfort of the American dream, and its comparatively comfortable problems and issues, there might be quite some empathy with the characters and the film will offer some kind of mirror – however, distorted.

For audiences around the twenty mark, they may well feel closer (in age and in experience and feelings) to Sadie and her teenage/parental issues as they remember their lives from the perspective of having got through the problems, sometimes with the help of their parents.

For audiences over fifty, Pete and Debbie might seem like characters from the past (or like their own approaching-middle-age children) and will give far more attention to the two fathers and their problems. They are played by two top actors, Albert Brooks as Pete’s father, and John Lithgow as Debbie’s father.

Albert Brooks gives another variation on his hang-dog-looking, bothered character. Actually, he has three very young triplets through in vitro and is trying to deal with being a father at his age while conscious of his health and exercising his ‘Poor Me’ turn as he continually borrows money from Pete.

John Lithgow is the aloof, top surgeon, who also has a family, much older, as he had parted from Debbie’s mother when Debbie was a little girl. She hardly sees her father who is very serious-minded (and does not get jokes).

There are some entertaining cameo roles with some familiar faces: Megan Fox is the attractive shop manager, Jason Segal a body (and soul and spirit) builder, Chris O’Dowd is Pete’s partner at his record label company and, stealing her scenes, as she did in Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy as the mother of a boy at Sadie’s school who gets stuck into Debbie and then bursts out into a verbal tirade when the school principal calls her in to discuss with Pete and Debbie. This is so effective that it is shown again during the final credits, with Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann trying to control their laughter.

So, there are various episodes: Pete trying to revive the career of Graham Parker with new record sales and performances, Debbie worried about who might be stealing from the shop. Lots of domestic scenes, some (apt) wariness about the younger generation worshipping the new technology (and dependent on watching all the episodes of Lost). A loving weekend away followed by outbursts and recriminations. And, the party for Pete’s birthday which is a fairly complete disaster – except that it does mellow Debbie’s attitude to Pete’s father and does help Debbie to understand her father and welcome his presence with her children.

This reviewer has been using the phrase ‘The Judd Apatow Syndrome’ to characterize films he has written, directed or produced. They begin with people behaving badly, even reprehensibly, but, as characters are revealed and tested, a rather traditional stance on morality emerges and the film ends on an upbeat note. The same here.