This Is 40
2012
***
Director: Judd Apatow
Cast: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, John Lithgow, Megan Fox, Chris O'Dowd, Jason Segel, Melissa McCarthy, Graham Parker, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow
Pete and Debbie, who we first met in Knocked Up, turn 40. At this stage, they should enjoy the best years of their lives in financial and familial security, but instead they have to deal with the demands of their failing business endeavours, daughters and fathers, and try to find some time for each other. Judd Apatow's melancholic comedy is autobiographical (the cast includes his own wife and two daughters) and it offers some poignant observations about families and long-term relationships but, oh boy, are these characters irritating. Like Apatow's previous works, this is a long and sprawling film which could easily lose several supporting characters (for example, Megan Fox and Jason Segel) and about 30 minutes of its running time. Melissa McCarthy has a hilarious cameo.
