This Is 40

PLOT:
This Is 40 follows the lives of the married couple Pete (played by Paul Rudd) and Debbie (played by Leslie Mann) as they prepare to turn 40. The stress of age is getting to them causing them to fight more with each other and keeping secrets that could destroy their marriage. It will take a great deal of effort for the couple to deal with their failing romance, step-parents that seem to only want their money, and careers that might be the wrong ones for them. Life was supposed to be golden for Pete and Debbie but right now it's only chaos and if they don't fix things their marriage might not last.

ACTING:
The acting in this is probably the best aspect for This Is 40. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann do a really good job in making me believe they are a couple that's been married for awhile and now must deal with turning 40. These two actors have come a long way from being supporting roles to being able to pull off a married couple having a rough time in their middle ages. It's not a grand performance but they do a really good job in bringing these characters to life. The whole cast does a good job as they help support Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.

ORIGINALITY:
Nothing at all about this movie is original but it will always be used because it's about life at middle age and married. There's been shows and many other movies done with this being the plot but it's just one of those topics that won't grow old because it's what we all will eventually go through. When I was a kid it was movies about riding bikes and playing, then a teen it was about teen angst, early 20's it's about parties and college, mid to late 20's is about parties, getting out of college, finding a job, starting a relationship, and then beyond that it starts to become more adult like with dealing with families and less parties. With the right cast and story, even this well used idea of a midlife crisis of a married couple can be funny and good.

TONE:
This Is 40 should be given a subtitle of A Movie That Will Depress You and Make You Not Want To Be Married and Turning 40. It's a very bleak movie, in fact it's one of the most depressing and bleak movies that I've watched. I can't even say that this movie has a happy ending because there's still life for them to deal with. There's really no positive plot points to this movie as the couple seems always on the verge of breaking up, the kids are disrespectful, and life is just one big litter box. By the time I finished watching this movie I was in a sad mood because it paints such a bleak picture of what being 40 and married with children would be like and it's not happy. I would have liked there to been more cheer given to the plot or at least some more jokes so it didn't feel like I was watching the end of a relationship.
 

STORY/EDITING/FORMAT:
Sadly this movie was not as funny as I was hoping it to be. It's possible that I didn't quite get the humor because I'm not turning 40 nor am I married with children. But that shouldn't matter to a good joke and even though I think this movie will go over better with the middle aged group of people that are also married with children, I assumed it was going to be really funny. At best it got out chuckle-laugh out of me but there were no moments that had me laughing out loud. Like I said in the tone portion, it's a bleak movie and instead of coming across as a comedy it came across as a drama about what life is like for a middle class couple having problems with money and each other.

BLU RAY LOOK:
One thing that This Is 40 has going for it is the quality of the picture. Though it's not that funny of a movie it looks going being what it is. With some deep solid blacks in the picture I didn't notice any grain or noise and the colors are pretty bright. Detail stands out the most because of how sharp the picture quality is, though I'm pretty sure Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann aren't too thrilled about the high detail when we get the close ups. Not that they look bad but they aren't in their 20's anymore and now we can see that in full HD. The audio is also really good as I was able to hear everything, all the arguments, yelling, and cursing that's done in this movie without changing the volume once.

PROGRESSION/SPEED/FLOW:
The biggest flaw this movie has is the length of it. I watched the unrated version and it clocks in at 2 hours and 17 minutes long. However, it felt more like 4 hours because when I started watching it at 11:30am I thought I have enough time to watch this before work and get my review wrote but come around 1:40pm the movie was just finishing up I realized that I had no time left. This is a long movie and it feels a lot longer than it is. For me this is what hurts it the most because there are scenes that could have been left out where it would have sped up the pace and kept me focused.

PACKAGING/EXTRAS:
Here's one thing I like about Blu Rays, they actually sometimes come with all sorts of bonus features. Not only does this movie have a gag reel, there's the deleted scenes, extended & alternate endings, a making of, and so much more to watch. Better yet, if the Blu Ray just isn't enough, it comes with a DVD, digital, and ultraviolet copy. Now I can watch it on my portable, my phone, my computer, and if I wanted to I could log in at work and watch it (not that I would because there are some scenes that are not work safe, unless nudity and crude humor is ok), and it also includes the theatrical version.

BUY/RENT/BORROW/DON'T BOTHER:
For me it wouldn't have been a buy, I was already planning on the rent part when it came out in theaters. Now if you are married, middle aged, and have kids then you might find this funnier than me and it's worth buying.