Review: 40 Days and 40 Nights

Not since Magnolia has a film been so drunk on celebrity dick as 40 Days and 40 Nights.

40 Days and 40 Nights
Photo: Miramax Films

Not since Magnolia has a film been so drunk on celebrity dick as 40 Days and 40 Nights. Matt (Josh Hartnett) is still hot for his ex-girlfriend Nicole, who’s now set to marry Morgan Stanley dick. It’s Lent in a gayless San Francisco and, rather than stop eating meat, Matt decides not to spank it for 40 days and 40 nights. Complicating matters is fellow dot-comer Erica (Shannyn Sossamon), whom Matt meets oh-so-cute at the local Laundromat. Bets are made, accompanying websites are launched and misunderstandings ensue. Despite its sitcomy, one-joke premise, 40 Days and 40 Nights is uncommonly sweet for a film so hung up on orgasms. Paul Costanzo is the weakest link, whose Ryan is barely tolerable beneath the 101-names-for-the-dick schtick (he says in one moment of desperation: “I need a Magnum for my magnum”). The misunderstandings are thankfully low on the “Three’s Company” scale while Hartnett and Sossamon’s chemistry is undeniably potent. Both bring an immeasurable level of class to the otherwise heterogeneous proceedings. While certainly glib when it comes to the male libido, it’s tough to dislike a film where Maggie Gyllenhaal questions the authenticity of the “immaculate orgasm.” At the very least, 40 Days and 40 Nights should provide couples with ample rose petals for thought.

Score: 
 Cast: Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, Paulo Costanzo, Monet Mazur, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Vinessa Shaw  Director: Michael Lehmann  Screenwriter: Rob Perez  Distributor: Miramax Films  Running Time: 110 min  Rating: R  Year: 2002  Buy: Video

Ed Gonzalez

Ed Gonzalez is the co-founder of Slant Magazine. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle, his writing has appeared in The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications.

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