This Is 40

Year: 2012

Grade: B-

Country: USA

Director: Apatow

Review

apatow has good ideas and a good sense of humor. he also is good at working in moments of emotional truth without coming off as sappy or false. that said, he’s too successful for his own good at this point. you get to a point in hollywood where you are successful and it buys you autonomy. that’s generally nice for the artist, but with some it leads to overly long, didactic, or rambling films. here we have something that could have been better served with the apatow touch, but without his fingerprints all over it. in other words, he’s a better producer right now than he is a filmmaker. of course, so long as the money keeps coming in, no one is going to tell him that. what he did with freak and geeks and developing so many young talents is where his mark will truly be left. lena dunham aside, he’s helped some really talented and funny people be discovered (the freaks and geeks crowd) and allowed others to show the talent they always had (kristen wiig), but hadn’t really fully exhibited before. he’s got a good sensibility, but he shouldn’t be charge anymore.

Watched in theater