Too many jokes at the expense of the romance in this one, 6 Jul 2004

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

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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Funky, 17 Dec 2002

The DVD itself, however, was less exciting. Where some films are bringing out extended interviews, behind-the-scenes, previews etc I was very disappointed that 40 Days and 40 Nights had very little to offer by way of special features.

The film comprises the 4 stars above. It's excellent.

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