'The 40 Year Old Virgin'

No one would have thought to ask that query at the time - three years ago! - when "The 40 Year Elderly Virgin" premiered, not knowing then that laugh riots such as "Knocked Up," "Superbad," "Pineapple Express" & more would come tumbling forth from the Apatow stable. Sure, people liked "Virgin," & why would not they? But beyond general lovely feelings there was no indication that Apatow & his pals would reshape the adult comedy throughout the second half of the decade.

Many of us love going to the movies. But sometimes you feel like staying in & renting something lovely. Each week, we'll help you out, with a film you either should see for the first time or visit again.

This wasn't the first blue-mouthed comedy to revive the genre that had been dormant since the days of "Animal House" & the like. "American Pie" & "Wedding Crashers" before it were in a similar vein, but the genius of Apatow was adding a crucial ingredient to the mix: heart.

That & Steve Carell. They had recently started in the American version of "The Office," having graduated from correspondent status on "The Every day Show" & at least one failed sitcom ("Watching Ellie," points for trying). He'd been lovely as the demented role of dimwitted weatherman Brick in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," but he'd seldom carried a movie.

The movie follows Andy's adventures - they lives alone & collects "Star Wars" figurines, which explains his status in perfect movie shorthand - as his pals try to find him the perfect woman, which in this case means one who will have sex with him. (Yes, it is a movie aimed at the 15-year-old boy in all of us.) But in Keener they finds more, leading to true love, but not before they has his chest waxed, among other indignities, in this case one that Carell underwent for real, which explains the falling-down-laughing antics of Rudd & Rogen in the background.

No matter. They was so winningly sweet as Andy Stitzer, the character about whom the title of the movie says much all you need to know, that they & his cast mates (including Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen & the invaluable Catherine Keener) could get away with anything.

"Superbad" was funnier, "Knocked Up" got more unanimously glowing reviews & Carell would finally become far more famous for his portrayal of Michael Scott in "The Office." But "The 40 Year Elderly Virgin" is worth revisiting, not as the film that kick-started Apatow's film career (they already had a spot in the fanboy hall of fame for being an executive producer of "Freaks & Geeks"), but for a funny, sweet movie in its own right.