‘This Is 40’ may feature Leslie Mann’s best role ever

Leslie Mann, the brilliant comedic actress, turns in an impressive performance in writer-director Judd Apatow’s funny, funny This Is 40. Mann has a way of delivering her lines in such an angry, believable and spot-on way that it’s difficult not to laugh at everything she says. As Debbie, wife of Pete (the equally impressive Paul Rudd), Mann is given the fullest and most rewarding role of her career. She earns a spot at the top with the best comedians working in the business right now.

Debbie and Pete love each other, but they are facing the big 4-0 and realize that time is of the essence. They are unhappy with their professional lives and only intermittently happy with their personal lives. They need a shot in the arm, something to give their marriage and parenthood some enticement. This premise usually spells doom for romantic comedies. I could see the script going the route of road-trip comedy, family-vacation comedy or open-marriage comedy. Instead, This Is 40 keeps the zaniness in the family, letting Debbie and Pete deal with their problems — some financial, some parent-based — from beginning to end.

Rudd and Mann, frequent presences in Apatow’s films, are perfectly cast as the married couple (they are actually reprising roles they began in Knocked Up). One believes these two actually love each other, but they have grown so used to each other’s company that much of the excitement is gone. This causes Debbie to have a drunk night out with the girls at the bar, where she tries to rekindle some of that younger spirit, while Pete puts his chips into a new musical venture with the hopes that his business will finally earn a profit.

Watching their trials and tribulations is always great fun. We laugh at their misery, not because it’s mean humor, but because it’s real. This a real married couple, not a Hollywood husband-and-wife team who seem created by a clever screenwriter.

Apatow could have shaved a few minutes off the film. Even though Debbie and Pete are good company, more than two hours for a comedy can be trying. The supporting work from Megan Fox, Jason Segal and Chris O’Dowd is enjoyable, although the focus never leaves the central couple for too long. In fact, there’s probably more one-on-one conversations between Debbie and Pete than any other type of scene in the movie. This allows the marriage to be fully examined before the film’s conclusion.

Apatow hits it out of the park with This Is 40; however, his success is largely driven by Rudd’s hilarity and Mann’s undeniable charm as a perfect leading lady.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• This Is 40

• 2012

• Written and directed by Judd Apatow

• Starring Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, Megan Fox, Jason Segal and Chris O’Dowd

• Running time: 135 minutes

• Rated R for sexual content, crude humor, pervasive language and some drug material

• Rating: