This is 40

There are three things every Judd Apatow movie has in common. The first is that they are all very, very funny in a raunchy, balls to the wall sort of way. The second is that they have a surprising amount of honesty and heart. The final thing is that each movie is approximately twenty to thirty minutes too long. Now, my boyfriend says Apatow is like a rock star - they wrote 15 songs for a new album and it doesn't matter if three of them aren't as good and drag the rest of the album down, they are going to include all of them. And while Apatow is definitely the comic voice of a generation and sort of the father of the current comedy scene, he isn't Scorsese or Spielberg so there is really no excuse for how bloated all of his movies feel. He needs an editor to tell him no. He has the ability to create the modern American comedy but, instead, his movies are just good instead of being great.

This is 40 is a sort of sequel to Knocked Up. Five or six years later, we meet back up with Deb and Pete, played by Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd. It is their shared birthday week and both are turning 40. Pete is handling it better, or at least, not lying about his age the way Deb is. There isn't so much a plot as just a bunch of stuff that happens, which is actually more realistic. Its called life. Pete has a failing record company and he thinks signing an old failing Graham Parker will help revive things. He also has to deal with his mooch dad (Albert Brooks) who has high blood pressure, a new wife and toddler triplets. Deb struggles with re-establishing a relationship with her deadbeat dad (John Lithgow) and the possibility of hottie employee Megan Fox who may or may not be seealing from her chic clothing store. Then there are their precocious children, played by Apatow and Mann's real life daughters Maude and Iris. Maude plays teen Sadie, obsessed with Lost and her changing body and crazy mood swings. Iris is 8 year old left out Charlotte, responsible for some of the best one liners. There is also an appearance by Jason Segel as his Knocked Up character.

There is a lot going on in this movie and, at over two hours, its east to see where they could have trimmed a minute here and a minute there. The super funny script and the great performances sort of make up for it though. Albert Brooks is so great as Pete's mooch dad, but Mann steals the show. She is funny and sweet and brings a levity to the raunchy comedy. Deb and Pete were easily the best thing about Knocked Up, so I'm really glad Apatow decided to give us another look into their lives. They deserve to be the stars of their own movie. Apatow most certainly has a gift for making characters feel real and lived in and for portraying even ridiculous scenes honestly. I just really wish he would learn to edit his movies down just a tad. But, I guess when you are ruling the box office, you can do whatever you want.

Also, LOVE the Ryan Adams cameo at the end.

Grade: B