Married couple Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are both approaching their 40th birthdays, and the stress of life is getting to them. They are struggling to balance romance, parenting, work and mounting financial issues. Despite having two children, Pete and Debbie’s marriage is a constant work-in-progress. They try to follow the advice of their therapist, but both are keeping secrets from one another, and it is only a matter of time before things come to a head.

I have mixed feelings about this film. This is 40 is an exploration of the humor and drama of making relationships work, rather than having an actual premise or story. It is more of a character study of these people and their broken relationships, life struggles and escalating problems. While there is a lot of great humor and dramatic moments, there were also parts that just didn’t work for me, and the film just felt way too long. Even though I watched the unrated cut of the film, that only added 3 minutes, and I suspect it was just a bit more cursing and nudity.

This is 40 has a lot of really fun, laugh-out-loud moments. From Pete and Debbie’s awkward and explicit discussions in the bedroom, to the couple talking about how they would kill one another, to Debbie telling off a young child. There are also some hilarious discussions centered around the series Lost, and a great scene with Pete and Debbie trying to convince their 13-year-old daughter to go outside and build a fort after they took away her WiFi.

This is 40 also has some great supporting performances. While I never made it past the second episode of HBO’s Girls, I thought Lena Dunham was great in this movie—perhaps because she actually left all of her clothes on. On the other hand Megan Fox doesn’t, and this leads to a hilarious scene with Debbie fondling Fox’s character’s breasts in a dressing room, admiring the perkiness of youth. However, Fox is not just in the film as eye candy—she really delivers a fun performance of a well-defined character. John Lithgow and Albert Brooks also add levity and drama to the film as Debbie and Pete’s dads, who each have new, young families of their own. Chris O’Dowd is great as Pete’s friend and business partner, and Jason Segel reprises his character from Knocked Up.

Apatow uses his own children in the film (reprising their Knocked Up roles). However, these kids are not actors, and in some of the behind the scenes footage, you see that Apatow was literally yelling lines to them off-screen seconds before they were supposed to deliver them. This is where a lot of the issues I had with the film arise—most of the repeating of prompted lines and improvising just feels like really bad acting or poor writing. This is especially eveident in the scenes with the younger daughter—sometimes she is looking directly into the camera or off-screen, waiting for some cue. That said, there were a few scenes when older daughter Sadie talks about Lost that I really enjoyed—especially when she argues with her father over the merits of Lost versus the merits of Mad Men.

Other things that didn’t work for me were Charlyne Yi’s character of Jodi (reprised from Knocked Up) and Melissa McCarthy’s character Catherine. At the beginning I had high hopes for Jodi, but by the end of the film the character had become so broad and outrageous that she just felt forced and unbelievable. And the character of Catherine just felt like McCarthy’s same crude character from Bridesmaids except this time she was a mother. I wish Melissa McCarthy would get more likeable roles like her Mike and Molly character rather than trying to do rude, shocking characters for film.

Overall, it seems like Judd Apatow just gathered a bunch of his friends together to just have fun. While some of this works and leads to some hilarious moments, other parts just feel awkward, forced or poorly written. There are also several jokes or references that felt like inside jokes for Apatow’s benefit, but they just made me feel like an outsider because I just didn’t get them. It also would have been nice to have more of an overarching story or plot to the film rather than just exploring these characters and their relationships. That said, while this film may not be for everyone, the fun moments and extensive bonus features on the disc are at the very least worthy of a rental, and Apatow fans will definitely want to check it out.

What’s Included:

Film:
Blu-ray:

• Theatrical (2:13:44), Unrated (2:17:03)
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 DTS, French 5.1 DTS, DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• English SDH, Spanish, French subtitles

DVD:

• Theatrical Only
• 480p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DD 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, French DD 5.1, DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• English SDH, Spanish, French subtitles

Digital Copy:

• Theatrical Only
• Ultraviolet Digital Copy (Universal, Flixster or Vudu)
• Digital Copy (iTunes, Windows Media, or Amazon Instant Video)

Extras (Only on Blu-ray*):

• Feature Commentary With Writer/Director Judd Apatow (2:13:44)
  Judd Apatow provides an interesting commentary over the theatrical cut of the film. He gives his thoughts on the film, behind-the-scenes tidbits and talks about the various actors and other projects he used them on. He also discusses, at great length, the various musical choices he made for the film.
  *This audio track is also available on the DVD.
• Documentaries
  • The Making of This Is 40 (50:05)
    This behind-the-scenes featurette is broken into two parts. In part 1, Judd Apatow talks about bringing back the location and the characters of Pete & Debbie from Knocked Up. The Apatow family talks about what it was like working together in front of the cameras. Also includes interviews with Megan Fox, Lena Dunham and Graham Parker.
    In part 2, the cast and crew talk about the bicycling in the film, and we see them filming the stunt scenes. There’s also interviews with and footage of guest stars Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Jason Segel, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd and Melissa McCarthy.
  • This Is Albert Brooks (At Work) (10:58)
    Judd Apatow and Albert Brooks talk about this character that was written with Brooks in mind. Includes footage of Brooks’ auditions, rehearsals and filming.
  • Graham Parker & The Rumour: Long Emotional Ride (17:30)
    Documentary about Graham Parker & The Rumour. Features interviews with the band as they recorded their new album in 2011.
• Music
  • Graham Parker & The Rumour (20:35)
    Concert footage of the band (some of which was used in the film). Select from “Fool’s Gold”, “Nobody Hurts You”, “Protection”, “Local Girls”, “Long Emotional Ride” or Play All.
  • Graham Parker (5:59)
    Concert footage of the Graham Parker (some of which was used in the film). Select from “You Can’t Be Too Strong”, “What Do You Like” or Play All.
  • Ryan Adams (9:52)
    Concert footage of the Ryan Adams (some of which was used in the film). Select from “Shining Through The Dark”, “Lucky Now”, “Ashes & Fire” or Play All.
• Deleted Scenes (35:36)
  A collection of deleted scenes with a Play All option. Scenes include “Post Graham Concert”, “Video Chat with Joseph”, “Do It”, “Dining with Barry & Barb” (further broken down into “Sponsor” and “Full”), “The Kids’ Table”, “Serious Contest”, and “Vaccinations”.
• Extended & Alternate Scenes (18:24)
  A collection of extended and alternate scenes with a Play All option. Scenes include “Barry & Pete in Coffee Shop”, “Unfiltered: Phone Issues & Gout”, “Kids Watch TV: Shark”, “Eastern Doctor” and “Accountant”.
• Gag Reel (8:26)
  Humorous gag reel that is broken into two parts, with no Play All option.
• Line-O-Rama (8:27)
  Rapid-fire alternate lines for various scenes from the film. Broken into two parts, with no Play All option.
• Brooks-O-Rama (2:46)
  Rapid-fire alternate lines for Albert Brooks’s scenes.
• Biking with Barry (2:43)
  Alternate lines used by Barry while biking with Pete.
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (8:36)
  Triumph the Insult Comic Dog interviews Judd Apatow and the cast on the set.
• Kids on the Loose 3 (11:41)
  Footage of the kids filming their scenes, subtitled with Judd Apatow’s off-camera directions.
• Bodies by Jason Commercial (1:27)
  Fake commercial for Jason Segel’s character’s personal trainer business.
• Fresh Air With Terry Gross (WHYY, Inc.) (44:00)
  Audio from Judd Apatow’s interview on Fresh Air.

Final Thoughts:

This Is 40 looks great on this blu-ray. The picture is clear, with no trace of grain or imperfection. The film is primarily dialogue-driven and the audio track captures this, but the surround and other channels are hardly used or utilized.

This blu-ray is loaded with an impressive collection of extras. There is a bit of everything you could possibly want—from behind-the-scenes footage, gag reels, deleted scenes, alternate takes and an audio commentary.

Fans of Apatow won’t be disappointed, and this extras-laden Blu-ray will be an instant-buy. For others, it may be worth renting before you buy. While there are a lot of funny moments, the film is a bit too long, and drags at times. It is also more of a character study rather than an actual story.