This Is 40
Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 21, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
8
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanDec 12, 2012
This Is 40 isn't always hilarious, but it's ticklishly honest and droll about all the things being a parent can do to a relationship. And why it's still worth it. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayDec 19, 2012
A few broadly comic moments aside, This Is 40 also captures the rhythms and concerns of real life in ways that slicker Hollywood comedies don't. Read full review
80
EmpireDavid HughesFeb 11, 2013
With his fourth film as writer-director, Judd Apatow has arguably made his most personal film yet, without forgetting to make us laugh. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt MuellerJan 11, 2013
Apatow's return creates a pleasantly sprawling, perceptive study of mid-life angst that never lacks for laughs. Promoting Rudd and Mann from Knocked Up's margins to centre stage proves to be a shrewd move. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 20, 2012
We aren't used to comedies that make us squirm like this. That doesn't mean they aren't worth our time. This Is 40 is. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin ChangDec 2, 2012
Judd Apatow's instincts have rarely been sharper, wiser or more relatable than in This Is 40, an acutely perceptive, emotionally generous laffer about the joys and frustrations of marriage and middle age. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaDec 20, 2012
In short, This Is 40, in tried and true Apatowian style, mixes weighty issues about intimacy and cohabitation with astute and smart-alecky pop culture references, crude bathroom jokes, stoner riffs, boob ogling, and existential angst. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsDec 20, 2012
Apatow still hasn't set the table for a meaty drama, but making us laugh is a piece of cake. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 20, 2012
Although This is 40 is too long and at times over-the-top, its essence is grounded in everyday moments and emotions that will have viewers nodding with understanding and recognition. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 18, 2012
That's what makes This Is 40 so potently, painfully funny, even when it's gross. What other film would dare suggest rectal monitoring as a form of closeness? Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyDec 20, 2012
There will be many who won't be able to get past the language in This Is 40. There will be others who will worry that the king of callous has gone soft on them. I'm just happy to see one of this generation's most influential comic minds back on track - the laugh track. Read full review
70
NPRScott TobiasDec 20, 2012
Calling it a mess would be both accurate and pointless, because a tidier comedy would squeeze the life out of this vital, generous blob of a film. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottDec 20, 2012
There are a lot of loose ends and a few forced conclusions. But, then again, the acceptance of imperfection is Mr. Apatow's theme, so a degree of sloppiness is to be expected. That's life. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlDec 18, 2012
Much like marriage, This Is 40 is somewhat formless, and it almost never hurries up. But life is improved by having the option. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid DenbyDec 17, 2012
For Apatow, one guesses, the only things that can forestall death are comedy (the movie is full of superb comics, including Albert Brooks and Melissa McCarthy) and the flourishing of his children, Maude and Iris, who appear in the movie as Debbie and Pete's daughters. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyDec 2, 2012
Even with all its ups and downs, there are more than enough bawdy laughs and truthful emotional moments to put this over as a mainstream audience pleaser during a holiday season short on good comedies. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 21, 2012
The performers are so likable that you stay with them even when, as is often the case, the material is hit-or-miss. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanDec 20, 2012
There are laughs to be found, as unfiltered improvisations on subjects such as Viagra, home electronics, pot cookies and the end of "Lost" come fast and furious. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesDec 19, 2012
Does Apatow understand his heroes are assholes? Read full review
65
MovielineAlison WillmoreDec 18, 2012
Apatow's film comes across as overstuffed and understructured, a collection of elements that hasn't really been assembled into a story and could do with the backbone. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenDec 20, 2012
Apatow rescued big-screen comedy from its lengthy wallow in the trough of dumb-and-dumber – we have good reason to thank the guy. Until now. In This Is 40, his fingerprints are still identifiable, but not nearly as crisp. They're starting to look smudged. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigDec 20, 2012
Give it plenty of points for brutal honesty. But This is 40 could have used more laughs. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 20, 2012
The best scenes - the only time This Is 40 taps into genuinely messy comic anxiety - feature Brooks, who shpritzes shabby false confidence as Pete's pop, saddled with a younger wife and triplets he can't tell apart. Otherwise, the movie never quite comes to a point. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 20, 2012
It displays a growing sense of fluidity and craft [from Apatow]. ... But much of the script feels oddly dishonest and dodgy. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottDec 20, 2012
Yes, Apatow's film has its peaks and valleys -- just the way life does -- but it stands alone nicely on its own, a satisfying comedic riff on life and all of its absurdities. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfDec 11, 2012
It all comes down to the Big Birthday Party and a furious bike ride, which he's clearly done before, in "The 40 Year Old Virgin." Read full review
58
The PlaylistDrew TaylorDec 18, 2012
Apatow indulges in his freeform tendencies to a particularly destructive degree with This is 40, resulting in a movie in which the ambitions are only equaled by the shortcomings. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanDec 20, 2012
Overlong, unnecessarily sex-obsessed and downright nasty at times, This Is 40 feels haphazard and unfinished, despite a few moments of laugh-out-loud humor. Read full review
50
TimeMary PolsDec 20, 2012
As the movie goes on, the laughs are fewer and farther between, and for the last 30 minutes, not only did I not laugh, I wanted it to end so I could get back to my own boring but less precious life. Read full review
50
IndieWireEric KohnDec 3, 2012
Welcome to the world of white people problems, ground zero for the strain of American comedies that Apatow does best. But does he really? Read full review
40
The GuardianHenry BarnesDec 21, 2012
It's not bad, exactly – but it is boring and very rarely funny. This is laboured. This is aimless. This Is 40. It's really quite a grind. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierDec 20, 2012
There's a funny movie scratching at the edges of This is 40. Unfortunately, writer-director Judd Apatow sees himself as the John Cassavetes of Comedy, so every time that funny movie starts to emerge, Apatow tramples it with scenes of domestic irritation. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithDec 20, 2012
I don't think he (Apatow) did enough research on his topic. Because no one could be as whiny, spoiled, tasteless, combative and reliant on annoying stand-up comedy riffs as the entire cast of this film, the most disappointing one of the year. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanDec 20, 2012
The movie that's meant to be his (Apatow) most personal turns out to be his most dully generic. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldConnie OgleDec 20, 2012
This is 40 is crude and dull, with a supporting cast that reminds you how utterly uninteresting the main characters are. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJesse CataldoDec 16, 2012
It certainly suffers from the staleness of its off-the-cuff, improv-inspired mode of comedy, which prizes free-form riffing over organically constructed comedic scenarios. Read full review
30
SlateDana StevensDec 18, 2012
At its worst, This Is 40 feels like being condemned to watch two hours of someone else's home movies - overly long, self-indulgent, and bone-crushingly banal. Read full review
30
Boxoffice MagazineAmy NicholsonDec 4, 2012
Apatow has drifted further and further from comedy with every film, but This is 40 is the first where he hasn't even bothered to write any jokes. Instead of snappy dialogue, we get lazy exchanges. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleDec 20, 2012
The real problem with This Is 40 is its lack of truth, that Apatow wanted to express something about married life, and it eluded him. After all, no less than Kierkegaard once said that the actual dynamics of marriage are beyond the scope of art, and he was the best movie critic of the 19th century. Read full review
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