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Review: |
No, religious purists: "40 Days
and 40 Nights" is not a Biblical film, nor does it carry moral
value. What it does have tucked under its sleeve is a wonderful
brand of comedy that's a step up from such atrocities as "Slackers,"
stemming from the situations of its main characters, played
to perfection by an actor who throws himself into the role
without hesitation. ***
Think of it as "American Pie" in
reverse: Matt Sullivan (Josh Hartnett) has just broken up
with his longtime girlfriend, Nicole (Vinessa Shaw), leading
him to explore various sexual partners, all of which he finds
himself comparing to his ex. He sneaks out of a lover's window
while she steps into the bathroom; he "fakes it" when paired
with a demanding, knows-what-she-wants aggressor; in his mind's
eye, he sees his ceiling cracking open into a giant, black
hole, a hole he considers his inner emptiness (it's goofy,
but it provides a nice laugh). ***
And then, one day, the answer hits
him. After paying a visit to his brother, John (Adam Trese),
a whose experience in seminary aide him in advising his sibling,
Matt swears off sexual practices ranging from the whole nine
yards to self gratification, his relinquishment for the season
of Lent. ***
At first, all seems to go well:
he begins building model cars, throws out his magazines, videos,
lubricants, etc, and crosses paths with a well-to-do girl,
Erica (Shannyn Sossamon, "A Knight's Tale"), in whom he finds
a connection beyond the physical attraction that dominated
his past flings. Of course, things go haywire when his work
colleagues develop a web page featuring a bidding system on
which day he will break down and "do it," throwing his life
out in the open with hilarious results. ***
None of this would work if not
for Hartnett's ability to throw caution to the wind and make
us believe in the humor and embarrassment of Matt's situations.
He does well in portraying his character as a normal, sexually
healthy male with confidence and ego to boot, and then one-ups
himself in his latter performance as a timid, nervous wreck
whose every move triggers one calamity after another. ***
Take, for instance, his confrontation
with the slim lovelies he works with, one of whom Xeroxes
a photocopy of her posterior with her phone number and offers
him a good time. Two others, bound to restore "the power"
to the female gender, begin making out in front of him, while
the rest of the office waits outside for the results. And
then there's his sex-starved boss, who accidentally downs
a glass of orange juiced spiked with Viagra meant for Matt.
Such situations aren't as risqué as some of the more low-brow
comedies we've seen populating theaters in the past, but gross
doesn't always mean more laughs, and here, it's a bit of a
relief to see a small level of taste put to good use. ***
The trailers for "40 Days and 40
Nights" have made it abundantly clear that the movie is from
the producers of "Bridget Jones's Diary," and while it lacks
the charisma of that previous movie's British appeal, it provides
an hour and a half of hearty laughs at it's main character's
expense. It's not likely you'll remember it word-for-word,
but the image of Hartnett walking into a meeting with a "situation"
in his pants is hard to shake.
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