Tagline: Better Late Than Never.
40-year-old Andy Stitzer (Steve Carrell) has done quite a few things in his life. He’s got a cushy job stamping invoices at an electronics superstore, a nice apartment with a proud collection of action figures and comic books, good friends, a nice attitude. But there’s just one little thing he hasn’t quite gotten around to doing yet–something most people have done by his age. Done a lot. Andy’s never, ever, ever had sex–not even by accident. So is that such a big deal?
Well, for Andy’s buds at the store, it sure is. Although they think he’s a bit of an oddball, there’s certainly a planetful of stranger (and homelier) guys who’ve at least had one go at having a go. They consider it their duty to help Andy out of his dire situation and go to great lengths to help him. But nothing proves effective enough to lure their friend out of lifelong chastity until he meets Trish (Catherine Keener), a 40-year-old mother of three. Andy’s friends are psyched by the possibility that “it” may finally happen…until they hear that Andy and Trish have begun their relationship based on a mutual no-sex policy.
Over the past few years, Steve Carell has slyly and hilariously stolen scenes and created lasting impressions in a number of film and television comedies: unleashing a torrent of gobbledy-gook jibberish from behind the news desk in Bruce Almighty… blinking vacantly and delivering quotable non sequiturs as simple weatherman Brick Tamland in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy… inheriting the comic legacy of the hit British television series The Office in the stateside version… and branding his trademark mock stoicism on a series of correspondent reports for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Now, Carell fulfills his comedic promise by stepping into his first lead role as Andy Stitzer, the title character in the uproarious new film The 40 Year-Old Virgin. Judd Apatow-whose credits include Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Kicking & Screaming, The Cable Guy and the beloved television series Freaks and Geeks-makes his feature film directing debut with The 40 Year-Old Virgin, co-writing the script with Carell.
To round out the cast, Apatow has assembled a true ensemble, gathering some of his longtime comedic collaborators, including Paul Rudd (Anchorman, P.S.), Romany Malco (Churchill: The Hollywood Years, The Tuxedo) and Seth Rogen (Donnie Darko, Freaks and Geeks) as Andy’s co-workers, who make it their mission to end his four-decade dry spell. Joining this funnymen boys’ club are Elizabeth Banks (Spider-Man 2, Seabiscuit) as Beth, the up-for-anything bookstore clerk who might just click Andy’s personal love odometer from 0 to 1.
Leslie Mann (Orange County, George of the Jungle) as the inebriated Nicky, who is a sure thing for Andy…until she has to drive him home; and Catherine Keener (The Interpreter, Being John Malkovich) as Trish, the quirky and affable woman who works across the way and finally sees Andy as more than just an untouched curiosity.
The 40 Year-Old Virgin charts one sweet guy’s odyssey from never-done-it to been-there-done-that as he follows disastrous, but well-meaning advice, endures oh-so-close escapades and almost gives up in search of the one chance that will satisfy his long-delayed gratification.
Feels Like the First Time
The idea for a comedic take on a sweet-natured but middle-aged virgin-who, through the well-meaning but misguided efforts of his co-workers, begins an unforgettable educational journey toward the goal of finally “doing it”-came from the artfully twisted mind of Steve Carell.
Based in part on a sketch he created years ago while performing with the improvisational comedy troupe Second City, Carell continued to resurrect the idea over the years, trying out different scenarios for the 40 year-old man with a big secret. Perhaps best known for his sidesplitting appearances on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and breakout performances in Bruce Almighty and Anchorman, the Second City alum knew he had an interesting premise in this unique middle-aged coming-of-age story.
Carell first met Judd Apatow, an award-winning comedy writer and television writer/producer, while filming the box office hit Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which Apatow produced. Carell, realizing they possessed similar comic sensibilities, shared his idea of the over-the-hill loner who remains a virgin at 40. At the time, Apatow was actively looking for a film project to direct and was charmed and excited about Carell’s pitch.
“I always keep my eyes open for the next funny guy who can carry a movie,” recalls Apatow, “and it was very clear that Steve Carell was stealing scenes in Anchorman. So I just let him know if he had any ideas to let me know. He told me a few, all of which were very funny, but this one made me laugh the most.”
Remarks Carell, “Judd Apatow is no novice. He has a really good eye for what potentially could work and what might not work. I was flattered that he took such an immediate interest in my idea, let alone wanted to team up with me and direct it.”
Apatow saw endless comedic potential in the project. In his mind, “40 year-old virgin” said it all. He in turn pitched the idea to Universal Pictures, where he was producing the Will Ferrell comedy Kicking & Screaming. The studio was very enthusiastic about the concept and gave the pair the go-ahead on the script.
Apatow and Carell spent several months working effortlessly together fleshing out the idea. They soon had a cohesive, inherently funny story rife with bawdy gems that had readers laughing out loud…before a little self-imposed propriety kicked in.
Remarks Apatow, “I’m a big fan of all the R-rated movies of the late ’70s and early ’80s like The Jerk and Animal House. They weren’t actually that dirty, but they didn’t have the handcuffs on either, and it made for an unrestrained type of comedy. I wanted to set the stage to really have fun and not have any limits to what we could say or do. What that does for this movie is that it makes it feel real…if people can curse the way they do in life. It all feels a little more like life and a little less like a film. I think it served the story well…plus it was fun to write.”
Although a film titled The 40 Year-Old Virgin screams sex comedy, the pair made a concerted effort to balance the obvious sexual aspects of the material with compelling, grounded (along with some off-the-wall) characters.
“Although The 40 Year-Old Virgin seems to be about finding a way to have sex,” observes Apatow, “it’s really all about these people who are looking for the love of their lives and struggling to find happiness during this pursuit.” That formula gave Apatow and Carell more free reign in terms of where they went with the often outlandish bits.
The project’s major appeal hinged on the boyishly handsome Carell, portraying the title character, and his ability to dissolve an audience into laughter with his myriad of facial expressions and innate physicality. This was coupled with his and Apatow’s skill in locating the humor within both the mundane and the outrageous with equal measure and infusing that comedic sensibility throughout the story’s various situations.
Universal’s production team also saw the possibilities and, to Carell’s mild disbelief, green-lit the project a week after it was submitted, placing it firmly on the fast track. Carell, who serves as an executive producer in addition to his writing and acting duties, remarks,“The writing process was fairly easy, but the process of being green-lit so quickly was pretty amazing. It’s kind of unheard of. This was my first screenplay, so I’m a little spoiled at this point. People work on movies for years and sometimes wait another couple of years to get it produced. We were really fortunate.”
Apatow, who had enormous confidence in the material, knew that luck had nothing to do with it. Producer Shauna Robertson, who has enjoyed a longtime collaboration with Apatow and served as an executive producer on Anchorman, agreed and felt that he had indeed found the right project. The 40 Year-Old Virgin was a distinct type of comedy, one that would benefit from Apatow’s finesse at helm.
Remarks Robertson, “Judd is so organized, meticulous and knows exactly what he wants. Anyone who has produced has a respect for the whole process, and Judd is especially on top of that. He truly is a producer’s dream director.”
Apatow also welcomed Clayton Townsend on board as producer and observes, “When I’m hiring a staff, I just try to hire people who are better at what they do than I am at what I do. I try to get incredibly overqualified people to help me not look bad. So I hired Clayton, who produced a lot of the great Oliver Stone movies like Natural Born Killers, and this is like the easiest movie on earth for him…I mean, he was coming off of movies like Any Given Sunday in stadiums. I told him, `Well, we walk around the Valley, and we have a stereo store.’ So he could do it in his sleep-that was incredibly helpful to me.”
The character of Andy Stitzer was one that everyone felt should be, at heart, a regular guy…who has had one too many missed opportunities at sex and eventually gives up trying. “The 40 Year-Old Virgin is as much about Andy learning about himself as it is about him losing his virginity,” remarks Carell. “He is a very decent person who is a bit on the shy side and he slowly begins to learn who he is and what’s important in his life.”
The filmmakers’ approach to Andy’s situation was further validated when research and conversations with older virgins (via several websites) revealed that the majority of them were indeed nice, normal people, all with interesting, plausible reasons why they hadn’t lost their virginity.
Notes Apatow: “It was valuable information to have because it made us realize that Andy Stitzer didn’t have to be that weird. Everybody has some built-in performance anxiety, and for some people, it prevents them from taking risks and they simply stop trying. We all thought that would be great for a romantic comedy, because you’ll always root for that person to prevail and find love.”
Early on during table readings and rehearsals, the filmmakers, actors and multitudes of their friends within the comedy talent pool pitched in scenarios and mined their own experiences-good, bad and humiliating-all in the name of research.
Recalls Robertson, “It was very collaborative. Everyone shared his or her own sexual experiences and ideas. That really punched-up the comedy and helped shape the script. There are bits and pieces of personal stories that have been incorporated into several of the script’s scenarios-as embarrassing as they might be.”
Doin’ It…
Together with their production team, Apatow and Carell began casting as they continued to fine-tune the story. The filmmakers didn’t have to look too far when assembling the motley group of co-workers who decide to remedy Andy’s little problem. Apatow and Carell always had Anchorman alum Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen (who co-starred in and co-wrote Apatow’s cult television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared) in mind for the roles of David and Cal, respectively, as they wrote the screenplay.
Apatow admits Andy’s buddies are an integral part of his (mis)education: “At first glance, these guys embody every bad, misogynistic attitude toward women…but deep down, they are sweet guys with the best of intentions who cover up their own terror with horrible theories on women.”
Carell comments on Rudd, who responded to the role of the lovelorn, self-destructive David: “Paul Rudd is one of the funniest people that I have ever met. He is deceptively good-looking. He is intelligent. He is kind and good-natured. He is, and has always been, a pleasure to work with. The only bad thing that I can say about Paul Rudd is that he seldom appears in a crisply ironed shirt, and for this reason alone, I must say that I detest him.”
Adds Apatow, when recalling the addition of Rogen to the team early on as both a co-producer and actor, “All along, I wanted Seth Rogen to play one of the guys at Smart Tech-he improvises better than anybody. He is only in his early 20s and is funnier than any person should be at that age…it’s kind of sickening, really.” Rudd and Rogen were game to join in on the fun and signed on early in the project.
For Rudd, who came off of his Anchorman experience with an enormous amount of respect for both Apatow and Carell, he had no qualms about fully committing to a project in the initial stages of development. “As most people know, my first love is preparing exotic, gourmet delicacies. As a result, I make all my decisions on films based on what kind of dish I feel the movie would be. I also view the people involved as ingredients. Apatow = fine flour. Carell = black currants. You get the idea. When I made the decision to join The 40 Year-Old Virgin, I felt the result would be some sort of dessert-a kind of nouveau cherries jubilee. Or at the very least, flan. So I signed up. I was, however, completely drunk on cooking sherry.”
Remembers Rogen of his casting process, “I was actually writing something else in Judd’s office when he found out the movie was green-lit. And I instantly started convincing him to hire me in some capacity to work on the movie.`You need me, man. You really need me.’ I just kept saying that to him every day. `You really need me, man. I mean, you’ll be screwed without me.’ And he bought it. And that’s it exactly.”
The remaining slot of Andy’s co-worker buds was to be filled by actor Romany Malco, who had previously worked with Rudd on the independent film The Château. It was actually that performance, his chemistry with Rudd and Rudd’s praise of his former co-star that brought the actor to the filmmakers’ attention.
The role of Jay was originally written as a preppy, fraternity boy character, but Malco’s energetic audition impressed the filmmakers enough that it changed the direction Jay would take on the page.
“I definitely took note of Romany when I first saw his reel. We brought him in for an audition and my first thought was, `How come this guy isn’t a huge star?’ He has an amazing presence and a dynamic personality. He really blew us away with his ideas and his take on the character,” supplies Apatow.
Jay’s streetwise, trash-talking womanizer would set the tone for the group’s antics as they lead Andy astray; it was that aspect of the role that appealed to Malco. Remarks the actor, “With a title like The 40 Year-Old Virgin, you would think that the main character would be a big freak. But, if anything, Jay is probably the biggest one in the entire film. He constantly runs around sleeping with all these women without ever making a real, quality connection with anyone. He’s the sexual antithesis of Andy, who turns out to be the normal one of the bunch. I was really drawn to the fact that he actually learns his own life lessons along with Andy.”
Set in the den of iniquity that is Los Angeles, Andy’s hilarious run-ins with the opposite sex run the gamut from Elizabeth Banks’ beautifully sexy bookstore clerk, Beth (who is intrigued by Andy’s enigmatic demeanor), to Leslie Mann’s party girl, Nicky (who is drunk enough to succumb to Andy’s clumsy first attempt at a pickup).
For the role of Beth, Apatow and Robertson already had Banks on their radar based on her performance in Wet Hot American Summer, a film that paid homage to the ’70s comedy genre.
Says Robertson, “Judd and I were huge fans of Wet Hot American Summer. Elizabeth is one of the funniest comediennes out there. I think she’s sexy and funny and has everything you could possibly want in a actress.”
Banks-perhaps most recently known for her role as the sweet, cultured wife of Jeff Bridges’ racehorse owner Charles Howard in the Oscarâ-nominated drama Seabiscuit-was ready for a different type of role and felt she would also be “in good comedy company” if cast in Virgin. She saw the opportunity in the sexually uninhibited role of Beth and gave her all at the audition.
“I basically gave Steve Carell a lap dance,” recalls Banks with a laugh, “which, in the long run, worked out well for me. The character has some outrageous moments, and I realized that I had to prove to them early on in the audition process that I was willing to go that far once filming began.”
For the role of Nicky, Apatow didn’t have to look very far. Leslie Mann (who’s also his real-life wife) plays the drunken woman Andy thinks he’s going to sleep with…until she drives him home.
“Leslie is hilarious, and it was fun letting her really go for it and become completely unhinged,” remarks Apatow. “Leslie wanted to do an original drunk character, so I told her to go get drunk with her friend and bring a video camera. The next day she watched the tape and was really embarrassed. I said, `There’s your character.’”
But it is ultimately Trish-the beautiful suburban mother portrayed by Academy Awardâ-nominated actress Catherine Keener-who captures Andy’s heart and is equally smitten when they agree to a “no sex” policy early in their budding relationship.
Best known for delivering strong dramatic performances leavened with wry comedy, Keener was enthusiastic about taking advantage of the opportunity to do something different when she first heard of the project. The filmmakers had always had Keener in mind when looking at the role of the woman who falls for Andy’s innocent charm, but were uncertain whether she would respond to the sweet (yet raunchy) comedy.
Fortunately for Apatow and Carell, Keener-despite her agent’s wary phone call informing her of a script centered around a 40 year-old virgin-was a fan of both Apatow’s and Carell’s work.
Keener remembers, “My agent called and told me about the script and, despite the title, she said it was very funny and had some heart to it. She then told me that it starred Steve Carell, who’s so talented. I then asked about the director, and she told me that it was the executive producer of Freaks and Geeks-a great show that I loved. I read the script that night and was glad they wanted me in it.”
For Apatow, the pairing of Keener and Carell proved to be kismet. “Catherine and Steve just had incredible chemistry; you could tell in two seconds that they were both charmed by each other, and that chemistry has worked like gangbusters. That’s rare in a broad comedy-usually the romantic element is a little forced. Catherine injects such realism in the film. She definitely elevated the level of the material in numerous ways.”
Apatow didn’t have to look far when casting The 40 Year-Old Virgin’s additional ensemble supporting roles. Over a decade spent writing and producing within the tight-knit comedy community yielded a plethora of talent, including Jane Lynch (A Mighty Wind) and Nancy Walls (Saturday Night Live)-both veterans of Chicago’s Second City troupe-as well as actors Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil, Kat Dennings, Mad TV’s Mo Collins…and a host of others.
Filming began in early 2005, shooting on location in Los Angeles. From day one, Apatow set the tone with his actors by utilizing an easy, free-flowing directorial style that had his cast members jumping from scripted dialogue to improvisational bits, riffing on situations he tossed out to this eager and funny bunch of talented actors.
The majority of the cast began their careers in some of the country’s top improv groups, so the ad-libbing Apatow advocated was expected…but it was still a process that kept everyone on their toes from take to take. More importantly, it also provided the director with an abundance of stellar material from which to cull when he shifted into editing mode.
Explains Apatow: “I realized while doing The Larry Sanders Show that if we didn’t cut and just returned to the top of the scene again, the second take within that take would always be looser and funnier. I’m a big fan of that approach. It’s an environment in which the actors know that if, in the moment, they think of something that is completely different, I want them to try it. What I think works best about a process in which the actors are allowed to change their lines is that they become more involved with their characters.”
Notes Carell, “Judd was very smart in his approach. He allowed us to improvise and play around with dialogue and discover things. None of us felt locked into any one performance…he kept it fresh.”
For Keener, the method was initially a bit disconcerting, but soon she embraced Apatow’s process and joined in.“I’d never worked like that,” says Keener with a laugh. “Judd and Steve gave us free reign to improvise. It was a great experience. They’re some of the best ad-libbers there are. It was fun to play along, but at times I realized I should just shut up and let them go. I had the time of my life.”
The Virgin’s Lair
Attention to detail is always important for filmmakers when visualizing, designing and executing the plans for the film’s overall look. Apatow and his team were enthusiastic when veteran cinematographer Jack Green ASC (an Oscarâ nominee for his work on Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven) and accomplished production designer Jackson De Govia joined the film’s crew.
When it came to looking for an editor and a costume designer, Apatow again returned to two professionals with whom he had previously collaborated on several occasions: editor Brent White and costume designer Debra McGuire. Each had proven themselves indispensable on Anchorman and the television sitcoms Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared and enjoyed an easy working relationship with the director. Apatow knew that they understood his vision for the film and would be able to illustrate it perfectly.
The bachelor pad for Carell’s middle-aged virgin took imagination and patience for De Govia and his art department when conjuring the interior apartment set…replete with vintage action figures, comic books, video games and other collectibles that pack every square inch of the set.
“Well,” says Carell with a laugh, “Andy has turned his energy-decades of pent-up sexual energy-into his other interests. So he’s amassed a rather large collection of action figures and video games. He’s not exactly a hermit, but he’s an introvert who keeps to himself amidst his collection of stuff.”
Set decorator K.C. Fox found herself logging hundreds of hours browsing comic book conventions, flea markets, vintage toy and movie memorabilia stores and scouring eBay for some of the hard-to-find collectibles. Through her diligence, she was able to assemble a collection that would make most aficionados drool at the thought of owning a fraction of her finds…from an original foam cast creature head from the horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon (one of her more valuable finds) and the original hand-painted comic book artwork from The Phantom, to hundreds of action figures, including a metal antique Wolfman (circa early 1950s) and many of the heroes from Marvel, McFarlane and DC Comics comic books. Fox even pulled a five-foot spaceship poster from the wall of her teenage son’s room to hang above Andy’s bed and give his bedroom authentic adolescent character.
The other challenge for De Govia and his department was designing the set for Smart Tech, the electronics superstore where much of the film is set. The enormous set was constructed on a converted soundstage in Los Angeles and chock full of name-brand electronics worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A large number of practical locations throughout the San Fernando Valley, where the film is set, were used for various scenes, from a mini-mall on Ventura Boulevard in Encino to Studio City’s elegantly casual eatery, the Bistro Garden. The restaurant hosted one of the film’s more hilarious scenes-a speed-dating sequence in which Andy and his pals each meet a myriad of women via timed, five-minute “dates.” That particular scene, ribald on paper, soon escalated into a no-holds-barred improv of even raunchier bits that had most of the filmmakers simultaneously wincing and laughing…and also realizing they had a wealth of additional footage for what would surely end up becoming the film’s unrated DVD version!
Notes Apatow, “I’m always amused by the scenes that weren’t intended to be that funny and suddenly become very funny. There were definitely moments when I thought, `Oh, that’s just too much’ or `Wow, that’s really dirty…I’m going to have to put that on the DVD.’ Particularly with the speed-dating scene, we had such great actors working that I let them go much further. I actually encouraged it.”
Toward the end of filming, as Apatow and Carell looked back on their respective debuts as film director and leading man / writer / film executive producer, they both could happily admit that their “first time” was indeed memorable.
The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco, Shelley Malil, Jane Lynch, Kat Dennings, Chelsea Smith, Erica Vittina Phillips
Screenplay by: Judd Apatow, Steve Carell
Production Design by: Jackson De Govia
Cinematography by: Jack N. Green
Film Editing by: Brent White
Costume Design by: Debra McGuire
Set Decoration by: K.C. Fox
Art Direction by: Tom Reta
Music by: Lyle Workman
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: August 19, 2005
Visits: 88
