2005 was a hell of a year at the cinema. It was the year Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins kicked off one of Hollywood’s greatest superhero trilogies, Lucasfilm used the Force to divide fans with Revenge of the Sith, and Judd Apatow made his feature directorial debut with the laugh-out-loud crude comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin. It pains me to say this, but that was 20 years ago. While staring Grandfather Time in his decaying face, it’s time to look back on the film that made Apatow one of the biggest names in comedy, and all the questionable decisions leading to its release.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about the film’s 20th anniversary, Judd Apatow candidly discussed The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the comedy’s troubled production, deleted scenes, and regretful content. According to Apatow, Steve Carell proposed the idea for The 40-Year-Old Virgin, based on an incomplete Second City sketch. “The sketch was a man in a poker game, and everyone is telling really filthy stories, and when he tells his story, it’s very clear he’s never had sex before,” Apatow recalls in the interview.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a raunchy romantic comedy starring Steve Carell as Andy, a middle-aged virgin who, after being goaded by his buddies, decides it’s time to lose his virginity. Directed and co-written by Apatow with Carell, the film also stars Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Kat Dennings, and more.

During the early days of production, Universal Pictures gave Apatow some notes, detailing concerns about the film. Among several observations, the studio said Paul Rudd “was too heavy.” They also thought Carell looked like a serial killer, with his glasses and Jeffrey Dahmer-type Members Only jacket. Universal also thought the movie seemed too indie. After evaluating the footage, Apatow scrapped the first three days of production, killing the scenes that raised too many eyebrows.

Apatow had plenty to tell THR about the iconic waxing scene, one of many highlights in the film.

“We were trying to think of some makeover sequence, but that had been done to death. So we were trying to think of an original way to approach it. Steve said, “Maybe you could just wax me for real, and it’ll hurt so much, it’ll be funny. People will just be able to tell that it’s actually happening.” So we set up five cameras like it was a documentary and just did it. It turned out to be as funny as we hoped it would be because it’s the kind of joke you can only do one time.

We wanted the waxer to be someone who was an actress and also a professional waxer. Miki Mia claimed to have been a waxer, but I think maybe she had only done it once because she clearly didn’t know how to do it, and we almost ripped his nipples off during the shoot.”

In the film’s unrated cut, Apatow shot scenes with Stormy Daniels, the famous pornstar. Stormy [who appears in an adult film] talks to Andy in one of his fantasies. In the scene, Andy is trying to watch porn but keeps fast-forwarding to the talking parts. The bit did not go over too well with audiences, as many voiced their concerns about there being too much porn in the movie.

Apatow also told THR that Rogen regrets the “You know how I know you’re gay?” sequence.

“That was something that came up during an improvisation and would always get a giant reaction in all the previews,” Apatow explained. “It was all done with a very positive spirit. Looking back, it’s hard to know if we would do it again. There’s just no way to be sure about that. I felt like all of the comments were meant as compliments.”

When’s the last time you watched The 40-Year-Old Virgin? Could it stand the test of time? Could the movie get made today? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Source:
The Hollywood Reporter