"This is 40"

Comedy. Rated R. 2 hours, 13 minutes.

by Jason Rzucidlo americajr@americajr.com

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I heard that "This is 40" was the sequel to "Knocked Up" so I was very excited to see it. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprise their roles as Pete and Debbie from the previous film. The new movie was released five years after 2007's "Knocked Up." Both films were written and directed by Judd Apatow.

"This is 40" reveals all of the trials and tribulations that goes along with turning 40 years old. Debbie denies that she is the big 4-0 several times through the film. Instead, she acts like she is still just 38. In addition, she has mood swings from her menopause. It opens with a scene of the couple having sex in the shower.

Pete and Debbie's children have now grown up. Sadie (played by Maude Apatow) is now 13 years old while Charlotte (played by Iris Apatow) is now eight. Both kids get into several verbal fights throughout the movie. Debbie tries to punish them by taking away their electronic gadgets, but it doesn't work.

Pete owns a struggling record label known as Unfiltered Records. He was banking on the success of musician Graham Parker, but the new album only sells a few hundred copies.

Meanwhile, Debbie operates a boutique clothing store. She has two employees, Desi (played by Megan Fox) and Jodi (played by Charlyne Yi). After a while, Debbie noticed that $12,000 went missing from her business and she has to get to the bottom of it.

"Mike & Molly" star Melissa McCarthy has a small role in this film. She stars as Catherine, the parent of a boy who goes to school with Sadie. Debbie got into a verbal fight with Catherine after noticing some of her son's rude comments on Sadie's Facebook wall.

One thing I noticed about this movie is how long it is. "This is 40" is 134 minutes long, making it five minutes longer than the previous film. It is rated R for sexual content, crude humor, pervasive language and some drug material. Scenes were filmed in and around Los Angeles including Beverly Hills.

While this movie is funny, I think it could have been better. Seth Rogen starred in the original "Knocked Up," but he was absent from this sequel. I think it would have been much more hilarious if he had some sort of part in this one.

There were several unanswered questions when the film ended. It didn't wrap up like how most other movies do. That makes me believe there will probably be another sequel in a few years from now.

OVERALL RATING: B

Graphic by Universal Pictures

"This is 40" movie poster