The 40 Year-Old Virgin is a comedy that comes to us from the writer/director/producer of Freaks and Geeks and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The poster alone makes it worth seeing the movie.

The premise is pretty simple: Andy (Carell) is a 40 Year-Old Virgin, hence the very fitting title.

Andy works at Smart Tech and is pretty content playing video games and collecting action figures. That is until his co-workers discover he’s a virgin and make it their mission to change that.

His co-workers are David (Rudd), a love-lorn, semi-romantic who is still depressed about a break-up that happened over two years ago; Jay (Malco), a married man who is regularly cheating on his wife; and Cal (Rogen), a guy who’s a bit on the freaky side (his first dialogue involves Las Vegas, a woman and a horse).

There are plenty of outrageously hilarious scenes, including the waxing of Carell’s chest which was not at all CGI, but completely real. There is another scene that was completely improvised by Rogen and Rudd that consists of the two telling one another how the one knows that the other one is gay. For instance, Rudd says to Rogen, “Know how I know you’re gay? You listen to Coldplay.”

There are also a lot of running gags and an excellent choreographed dance scene as the film’s finale reminiscent of some of the song and dance numbers from Anchorman that you just have to see to believe. Ladies (and some gents): Paul Rudd shirtless!!

I liked that there was a lot of diversity in the cast, including three Eastern Indian characters in roles outside of the usual stereotypical roles in which Hollywood typically casts them. It’s great to see some realistic characters and to have characters you care about, unlike so many other films I’ve seen recently (like Skeleton Key, for example).

In addition to the humor, there are also positive messages about relationships and love. Steve Carrell’s real-life wife, Nancy Walls, even has a cameo as the health clinic counselor.

If you liked Anchorman, you’ll love this movie. Even if you didn’t, I think you’ll love this movie. I’m not sure what to make of a film market where the top grossing films of late are The Wedding Crashers and this film. But I like it! If laughter is the best medicine, after seeing this movie, you shouldn’t get sick for at least a year.

Grade: A