Critic Reviews

This Is 40 isn't always hilarious, but it's ticklishly honest and droll about all the things being a parent can do to a relationship. And why it's still worth it.

A few broadly comic moments aside, This Is 40 also captures the rhythms and concerns of real life in ways that slicker Hollywood comedies don't.

Judd Apatow's instincts have rarely been sharper, wiser or more relatable than in This Is 40, an acutely perceptive, emotionally generous laffer about the joys and frustrations of marriage and middle age.

We aren't used to comedies that make us squirm like this. That doesn't mean they aren't worth our time. This Is 40 is.

Apatow's return creates a pleasantly sprawling, perceptive study of mid-life angst that never lacks for laughs. Promoting Rudd and Mann from Knocked Up's margins to centre stage proves to be a shrewd move.

With his fourth film as writer-director, Judd Apatow has arguably made his most personal film yet, without forgetting to make us laugh.

That's what makes This Is 40 so potently, painfully funny, even when it's gross. What other film would dare suggest rectal monitoring as a form of closeness?

Although This is 40 is too long and at times over-the-top, its essence is grounded in everyday moments and emotions that will have viewers nodding with understanding and recognition.

Apatow still hasn't set the table for a meaty drama, but making us laugh is a piece of cake.

In short, This Is 40, in tried and true Apatowian style, mixes weighty issues about intimacy and cohabitation with astute and smart-alecky pop culture references, crude bathroom jokes, stoner riffs, boob ogling, and existential angst.