# The 40-Year-Old Virgin is supposed to be a comedy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025 "2013-11-04T03:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/101 "2013-11-05T20:22:59Z")
I just remembered the scene I really liked in 40 YO Virgin - the “You know how I know you’re gay?” scene. That scene was very real and very funny, two guys just sitting around playing video games and talking smack to each other, in a way they would never talk to a girl. IIRC a lot of that scene was ad-libbed, which makes sense why it came off so well. ETA: Aargh! First on the 3rd page? Do not want! ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/102 "2013-11-05T21:10:27Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > I know! And sometimes there will be a movie that I really liked, and it scored poorly! That thing **must** be broken right? :rolleyes: > > You are a master of sarcasm. > > Really though, I find RT seems to lean towards artistic rather than entertainment - with it applying more loosely to certain genres. > > Thought I could joke around a bit in a thread about a comedy… > > OBVIOUSLY it is ALL a matter of taste, and the only incorrect response is 42, blue, or a chicken wing. I was more just saying it surprised me that a group of people that usually have the same taste as me find him funny. Perhaps they identify with him? I’m 100% positive that you don’t understand how Rotten Tomatoes actually works. They just compile reviews. “They” have no actual opinion on the matter. “They” don’t lean in any direction. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/103 "2013-11-05T22:00:00Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Andy is ridiculed when his coworkers find out he’s a virgin (primarily due to the “bags of sand” obvious bluff) out of disbelief, and they also tease him (as _all of them tease each other_) the next day. However, when Andy runs away in embarrassment, Paul Rudd (yum) follows and they have a more meaningful discussion about why Andy remained a virgin for so long. > > Throughout the film, Andy is sympathetic and the audience is intended to be rooting for him. The guys quickly become his friends and are sincerely trying to help him. There is a lot of “humor of awkwardness” and mock insults in the film, but everyone is subjected to it, not just Andy, because that’s just the way these guys relate to one another. Heck, for fun they smack each other with flourescent light tubes when bored at work! > > ) The ridicule is really no more than what good friends do with each other when they get together. Its not done maliciously > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I thought that Rotten Tomatoes didn’t review movies itself but averaged the published reviews to provide a consensus. Exactly. They compile the reviews across the country. Art house movies tend to skew higher because they have a lot few reviewers to average out. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/104 "2013-11-06T08:25:34Z")
It was made with an outsiders’ misunderstanding of fanboy culture (whence I myself spring), and the smug ridicule from a standpoint of ignorance made it annoying to me. The moral–that if you just stop being what you are, and listen to the normally normal, you, too, can become as normally normal as wonderful they–is perfect for an LCD audience. Also, fanboy culture was actually a veritable _band camp_ once all those lonely misfits found themselves fitting at sci-fi conventions and the like! ---
**Author:** ![Breen11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@Breen11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breen11)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/105 "2013-11-06T09:02:32Z")
The 40-Year-Old Virgin is funny. Its just how your sense of humor is around comedies. Example Most my friends have said _The Hangover_ wasnt as funny as _Hot Tub Time Machine_. :eek: IMO theyre crazy cause _The Hangover_ was/is funnier then _Hot Tub Time Machine_. Its all about your sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/106 "2013-11-06T09:25:06Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > It was made with an outsiders’ misunderstanding of fanboy culture (whence I myself spring), and the smug ridicule from a standpoint of ignorance made it annoying to me. The moral–that if you just stop being what you are, and listen to the normally normal, you, too, can become as normally normal as wonderful they–is perfect for an LCD audience. “LCD audience.” Yeah, and _they_ were smug! Anyway, I disagree. It wasn’t that Andy was getting rid of his collections to be “normal” – besides, all of his friends were abnormal in some way. He was selling what he had in order to become independent rather than a 40-year-old shlub working for obnoxious Jane Lynch with a bunch of other unhappy shlubs. Plus I’m pretty sure he kept the Aquaman [del]doll[/del] action figure. (Or possibly the Steve Austin or Oscar action figure from _Six Million Dollar Man_, I don’t remember which one he took out of the box and kept.) He’s still Andy the geek by the end of the movie, he’s just Andy the geek who’s married and happier. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/107 "2013-11-06T13:43:30Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I’m 100% positive that you don’t understand how Rotten Tomatoes actually works. They just compile reviews. “They” have no actual opinion on the matter. “They” don’t lean in any direction. No no, I realize this, but I’m saying the overall effect of their method. It is just a lot easier to indicate then to say that every time. And since reviews were a lot more positive when movies first came out (as they had nothing to compare to) older movies receive a bit of a bias as well. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/108 "2013-11-06T15:26:21Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > And since reviews were a lot more positive when movies first came out (as they had nothing to compare to) older movies receive a bit of a bias as well. You aren’t claiming that 40 Year Old Virgin is an “older movie” in terms of critical review, are you? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/109 "2013-11-06T18:06:12Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > You aren’t claiming that 40 Year Old Virgin is an “older movie” in terms of critical review, are you? I think he means classic movies, which are often the arthouse movies he was talking about, or are movies that have stood the test of time enough that they still get reviewed occasionally now. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/110 "2013-11-06T18:23:40Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I think he means classic movies, which are often the arthouse movies he was talking about, or are movies that have stood the test of time enough that they still get reviewed occasionally now. Precisely. As to why “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” got positive reviews? I suppose if the majority of people watching it found it favorable the critics are somewhat pressured in saying that same. In retrospect the movie won’t even be mentioned, perhaps. Also, though the movie had its moments, I don’t think Steve Carell made the moments funny, he was just the puppet placed in that role. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/111 "2013-11-06T18:34:24Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > Precisely. > > As to why “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” got positive reviews? I suppose if the majority of people watching it found it favorable the critics are somewhat pressured in saying that same. In retrospect the movie won’t even be mentioned, perhaps. Also, though the movie had its moments, I don’t think Steve Carell made the moments funny, he was just the puppet placed in that role. You really don’t know how movie criticism works. I’ve never seen a movie garner postitive reviews because the movie going public “demands” it. In fact, normally quite the opposite. If you bother reading the reviews on RT for the movie, you can see for yourself what the critics liked (or didn’t like) about the film. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/112 "2013-11-06T18:50:02Z")
And don’t critics review the movie before most of the general movie going public CAN see it? I think that’s the point - so people can know what critics think before they spend their $10. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/113 "2013-11-06T19:06:13Z")
You didn’t laugh when the old Indian guy said to the young black guy, “Are you people born with criminal records?” Maybe politically incorrect humor is not your cup of tea. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/114 "2013-11-06T19:24:56Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > And don’t critics review the movie before most of the general movie going public CAN see it? I think that’s the point - so people can know what critics think before they spend their $10. Yep, which is why when you hear a movie was made unavailable to critics before release date you know it’s going to be a stinker. Also, the [critic rating on RT is 85% and audience reviews is 80%](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/40_year_old_virgin/), completely negating \*\*AnthonyElite’s \*\*theory above. The critics liked it a touch better than the average viewer, but not by much. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/115 "2013-11-06T19:28:43Z")
A sampling of positive reviews listed on RT from “Top Critics” (meaning they work for a major publication, I believe). > [@](#): > > At its best it resembles one of those classic early-'80s comedies starring Steve Martin – the thinking man’s Woody Allen – boasting an acute mix of desperation, dignity, lunacy and indecorous wit. > [@](#): > > It’s truly dirty and truly romantic at the same time, a combination that’s very hard to pull off. > [@](#): > > The 40 Year-Old Virgin speaks to the geek in us all, it’s democratic in its ridicule, and it makes you understand why sometimes a guy just wants to stay home and talk to his toys. > [@](#): > > Hilarious and imaginatively crude with a surprising sweet and subtle aftertaste that prevents it from flopping, limp and brainless, into the sugary abyss of romantic predictability. > [@](#): > > The whole film is about embarrassment, about those moments of clammy vulnerability when the world just turns and stares. > [@](#): > > Carell brings something funny, and oddly real to Andy – a touch of embarrassment, a bit of self-loathing, a genuinely sweet concern. > [@](#): > > The 40-Year-Old Virgin offers some sparkling insights about the cumulative effects of performance anxiety, about how guys struggle with the transit from boys to men with little help from their pals. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/116 "2013-11-06T21:03:15Z")
What’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/117 "2013-11-06T21:09:40Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > You really don’t know how movie criticism works. I’ve never seen a movie garner postitive reviews because the movie going public “demands” it. In fact, normally quite the opposite. If you bother reading the reviews on RT for the movie, you can see for yourself what the critics liked (or didn’t like) about the film. No, I know how it…ah, fuck it. The movie sucked, Steve Carell sucks ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/118 "2013-11-06T22:49:15Z")
I enjoyed it. I worked at Circuit City and ran an eBay drop-off business around that time. And although my virginity did not survive my late teens, I have severe social anxiety disorder and all sexual activity has occurred during 2 long term relationships and a marriage that I did not initiate. I am not yet 40, but I very well could have been a 40 year-old virgin if not for just a few lucky interactions. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/119 "2013-11-07T00:24:59Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > No, I know how it…ah, fuck it. The movie sucked, Steve Carell sucks Oh so it was a joke or something? Because it really seemed like you have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025/120 "2013-11-07T16:20:47Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Oh so it was a joke or something? Because it really seemed like you have no idea. I was basically saying that when big names come together for a movie it would be tough for a critic to negatively review it. Also that there is a bias towards already-established actors. Obviously I have an understanding of how critics work, but some critics see it before the audience, some after. Also there is build up - if there is a lot of hype about a movie - well known actors, based on a book, remake, etc etc - the critic’s opinion might be biased. Also there might exist a bias based on the time period. For example the recent Super-Hero craze. A decade from now we will probably look back and think a grand majority of those Super-Hero movies were B quality at best. Dressed up nicely, of course, but of no real substance. The **real** joke is the idea of someone so witty charming and handsome as Steve Carell being a virgin at 40. Amirite? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-40-year-old-virgin-is-supposed-to-be-a-comedy/673025.md?page=7)