"40 Days and 40 Nights" is, and I'm being uncharacteristically generous, modestly funny in its gratuitous vulgarity. Matt Sullivan's (Josh Hartnett) co-workers contribute most of the few laughs by gambling on the day and manner in which he will break his vow of abstinence. I think that better casting of Matt's character would have made for a better movie. Matt must be attractive enough to be able to operate the revolving door of one-night stands before his vow (Hartnett meets this requirement), but he must also be lovably pathetic after the vow to be believable and comedic in his self-inflicted predicament. Hartnett is just too stiff and awkward to meet this requirement.
The entire movie is an enormous buildup to the explosive ending. An ending that can best be described as ruinous. |
