The 40 Year-Old Virgin

Four stars. Recommended.

After stepping in to fill a space in their poker game, full-time nerd Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) finds himself taken under the wing of his new best buddies. They have learned that he is still a virgin, and they make it their mission to get him laid. Andy reluctantly goes along with their plans and schemes, while at the same time starting a relationship with the woman who runs the shop across the road from his (Catherine Keener), and trying to stop her from finding out how awkward he is about the whole sex thing.

With a setup like this, it is inevitable that there will be a truckload of embarrassing and cringeable scenes, but they are never all that bad, and they're more than matched by the funny bits. I also found that the film actually got funnier as it went along. The supporting characters--Andy's well-meaning buddies--are changed by their friendship with Andy as much as he is by them, which leads to richer and more amusing situations later on. The script balances these characters well, though, never allowing them to overwhelm Andy as the central figure and the source of all the biggest laughs. And for a film that looks like it's going to be all about casual sex, it ends up being much more about friendship, love and commitment.