DVD Review: This is 40

You may remember Pete and Debbie from 2007's Knocked Up. Now, they're turning 40 and struggling with how to be happy in their marriage and lives in general. We watched it, we reviewed it. Read on to find out if you should check it out!

The Good

This is 40 is not the movie you think it is. The marketing and the cast would have you believe this is a comedy. It is not! This is 40 is a drama with sprinkles of comic bits. That being said, the performances are very strong. Rudd is fantastic as usual and Mann is not completely annoying, which is a bit of a departure for her. Small supporting roles from big names like Albert Brooks, Jason Segel, and John Lithgow really fill out the cast well.

The Bad

Pretty much everything that I didn't mention in "The Good" is horrible about This is 40. The story is so SO boring and when it's not boring, it's depressing. The comedic styles of Rudd and Mann are completely wasted on this movie in which there isn't much to do, comedically. A lot of the screen time is given to the couple's two children, played by Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann's real-life kids. The roles are so important to the film that they should have been given to experiences child actors, not given to these two simply because they are the director's kids. The worst part about This is 40 is it's runtime. Just like Knocked Up, This is 40 is WAY too long. In fact, I could have forgiven half of the film's problems had they gone with an hour and a half runtime. Instead This is 40 goes on for two hours and thirteen minutes; and this is not one of those movies that feels shorter. It goes on and on and you notice it as soon as it starts to go on too long.

The Verdict

The very strong cast would have you think This is 40 would hit it out of the park. Instead, almost everything about the film is a mistake. It's boring, it's depressing, and it's soooo long. Not to mention, the marketing for the movie set up a bait and switch. And that's not cool.

Dusty's Score: 3 out of 10