This Is 40 (2012) * *

Directed by:  Judd Apatow

Starring:  Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Megan Fox, Chris O'Dowd


An editor for a Judd Apatow film has to be the cushiest job in Hollywood.     Apatow's films hover at or past the two-hour mark, so there likely isn't much left out.     This Is 40 is a prime example of that.     There is a lot of material covered here, but quantity doesn't trump quality.    It's odd watching a film still introduce subplots 1 hour and 50 minutes in.     We should've been watching credits roll by that time.    

This Is 40 focuses on Debbie and Pete, who were introduced in 2007's Knocked Up and their story continues five years later.      Mann played the older sister of the Katherine Heigl character in Knocked Up, but there is no mention of Heigl or her child here.   In fact, there are no references to anything that happened in Knocked Up, so This Is 40 really could be about any married couple with children.     This Is 40 was promoted as "the sort of sequel to Knocked Up", which would likely induce more people to see it than would normally be inclined to.  

Debbie and Pete are comfortable and familiar with each other.    They have two daughters, one of which is hooked on the TV series Lost.     Each runs a business that is struggling.    Debbie's clothing store can't account for $12,000 listed on its books.    Pete's start-up record label can't make hay because he is signing acts like Graham Parker.     Parker, a British musician who was in heavier rotation during the early days of MTV, plays himself.     I can't imagine how much Graham Parker is remembered, but Pete states emphatically that two of his albums made the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums of all time.      Even Parker is puzzled by Pete's optimism that he will sell enough records to get the company out of the red.   "You didn't expect it to sell, did you?" Parker says when he is told only 612 copies of his new release were bought.

Debbie and Pete's financial woes continue because of Pete's insistence on loaning money to his shamelessly freeloading father (Brooks), who is 60ish and has triplets whose names he can't keep straight.     Brooks consistently puts Pete through a guilt trip in order to keep getting money.    "I saved you from being aborted."    Brooks remains engaging despite his flaws, which is more than I can say for Debbie and Pete.    Debbie has father issues of her own.    Her father (Lithgow) wishes to reenter her life after being away for seven years.     Lithgow's role is tricky, but he is up to the challenge.

This Is 40 is meant to be a slice of life comedy, but its dialogue is full of too many one-liners and obscure pop culture references to allow its characters to be human.     I was too aware I was listening to dialogue.    There are more fights, reconciliations, and subplots in This Is 40 than I could possibly list.   Not to mention cameos by Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Jason Segel, Lena Dunham, and Melissa McCarthy.    It's a lot to juggle.

Mann and Rudd do what they can, although Mann has a tendency to conspicuously overpronounce words like "miniature."     There is one scene in which Mann yells at a young boy because he insulted her daughter on Facebook.     Mann becomes so nasty and insulting that the comic tone is lost.    A similar scene in which Rudd confronts the boy's mother is equally mean and goes nowhere.     Debbie and Pete are put through so many emotional twists and turns that they can't keep up.    

I haven't been able to wrap my head around why Apatow films (and not just ones he directs) seem to run at least 30 minutes longer than they should.     Does he think his characters are so lovable that we won't tire of them?    Trust me,  there are many times in This Is 40 where I had quite enough of the whole bunch.