Film Review: This is 40

I was recently sent a review copy of This is 40 by the Universal press office. This is 40 is an American comedy film that is a kind of sequel to Knocked Up. I say kind of as the lead characters in This is 40 were not the main focus is Knocked Up, therefore it works really well as a standalone film if you haven't already seen it's predecessor.

This is 40 follows the lives of a a middle-aged couple, Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) who have just reached their 40th birthday and documents the struggles they have with their jobs (Pete's business is failing and Debbie thinks her employee is stealing from her) and families (daughters arguing, Pete's dad borrowing money and Debbie trying to build a relationship with her absent father) which puts a fair amount of stress on their relationship.  Debbie and Pete clearly already have their differences, for instance they're both into different music styles and as the couple try to deal with all these other day-to-day burdens they annoy each other more and what start as tiny annoyances seem to blow up - as I'm sure as happened to most of us at one time or another.

There are some truly funny laugh out loud moments but the film is also quite touching in places and the characters of all very likeable. I think anyone with young children and/or stressful jobs can appreciate the feeling of being ground down by the daily churn of it all whilst trying to maintain a good relationship with your other half - as in reality it's normally that which gets neglected when you're trying to keep everything else up and running!  I think one of the underlying tones that the film focuses on is that you can also lose sight of why you were together in the first place and how important it is not to let that go. I enjoyed the scene in the hotel bedroom for that reason as it was a glimpse of them getting back to being the couple they were - before things go wrong of course.

I loved the appearance of Jason Segel as Debbie's fitness coach and also Melissa McCarthy who had only a tiny bit-part but managed to turn it into a starring role. The woman is hilarious as an angry parent and I wish we'd seen more of her.  The children in the film are played by the director, Jude Apatow, and Leslie Mann's (Debbie) real life children and I thought they played the parts really well. 

I enjoyed the film a lot, although I will say that I thought it could have been a bit shorter - at 134 mins it did feel a tad long for the storyline.  I am also going to say that it's probably more of a chick-flick but having said that, Mr M did really enjoy it too as the humour was definitely  aimed at both sexes. You'll probably appreciate this film more if you are in your 30's/40's as there will definitely be parts you can identify with - I felt myself nodding in agreement more than once!

This is 40 is available to pre-order now and to buy on Blu-Ray and DVD on June 24th.