The 40 Year Old Virgin surprised me in many ways. How? Well, I knew going in that the movie would be funny. After all, it stars Steve Carell, a comedic-force who steals nearly every film he appears in (see Bruce Almighty and Anchorman). What really took me by surprise was the movie's enormous heart. There is a sweetness to be found in The 40 Year Old Virgin that I wasn't expecting. The premise of the film is suggested by the title and rightfully leads one to suspect that it's going to be something of a one-trick-pony.

Steve Carell is sweet natured Andy Stitzer -a gentle, well groomed man with a good job (that of an electronics salesman) and a massive assortment of collectible models and dolls. He also likes playing Halo and enjoys a nice pair of slacks. Oh and yes, did I mention that Andy also happens to be a virgin? It seems that every time any sort of moment would develop - offering him the opportunity to break the ice, fate would conspire to queer the deal. He's been fine with this of course, until - at the ripe age of 40 - his buddies at work (played by Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogen) catch wind of his little secret. Almost immediately, they set about contriving to get Andy laid, though the electronics salesman is perfectly happy with who he is - and is, by no means bothered by his chastity. To further complicate matters, Andy becomes smitten with a woman named Trish (a wonderful Catherine Keener), and before you can say; "let me slip into something more out-dated," they fill Andy's head with conflicting information, rather than allowing the man to do things his way.

The 40 Year Old Virgin is a good comedy. It isn't the laugh per second gut buster I'd hoped it would be, but the humorous moments it does offer up are well worth the wait. There are some terrific pot shots taken at a fairly popular musician early on in the film (pot shots that our Kyle England will certainly find hilarious as we constantly goof on this particular rocker ourselves), a laugh-out-loud sequence in which Andy - at the insistence of his friends - opts to have his chest hair waxed (his cries of pain and subsequent use of profanity are an absolute riot). As are the various scenes which feature an inexperienced Andy desperately attempting to pick up women by using every cliché in the book (assisted to the crazy hilt by the likes of Leslie Mann and Elizabeth Banks). And I do have to mention the single funniest moment in the picture, a brilliant, absolutely hilarious homage to the musical Hair. It had me laughing well after I left the theater.

Once Catherine Keener enters the picture as love interest Trish, The 40 Year Old Virgin really begins to succeed as a romantic comedy - and becomes something much sweeter and far more meaningful than I was expecting. Steve Carell is outstanding here. Rather than playing Andy as a one-note charicature of sorts, he creates a three-dimensional, very real and conflicted individual. Yes, he is very funny here, but he's also sweet and vulnerable, and I admire Carell for creating a fully fleshed-out character, rather than a wooden comic device. Catherine Keener (an actress who usually relishes in playing the bitch) is just terrific. She too is sweet, as a woman who just wants to fall in love with a nice guy, and this is perhaps the least abrasive we've ever seen her in a film. She has momentary outbursts throughout The 40 Year Old Virgin (her verbal assault on a telemarketer is a scream), but ultimately, we've never seen her in a role like this and she's wonderful. She and Carell generate some winning chemistry, and I was surprisingly moved by their whole courtship.

The supporting cast is a hoot. Paul Rudd is amusing as Andy's co worker David, a man in no position to be dispensing advice regarding matters-of-the heart - as he's still wounded and recovering from a collapsed relationship of his own. Romany Malco (looking like an extra suave Montel Williams) and Seth Rogan (who looks nothing like Montel Williams) are also entertaining as Jay and Cal, other co-workers who, along with David, constantly offer Andy advice that he doesn't really need. I'd also like to give a special shout out to Jane Lynch (whom you may recognize from The Mighty Wind and Best in Show). She does an expert job playing Andy's creepy, sexually aggressive boss. She's extremely dry in her comical approach, yet through her overt sexual advances we sense and underlying desperation. Nevertheless I laughed nearly every time she was on screen.

The 40 Year Old Virgin was quite different than the film I was expecting. It's an R rated comedy, but it isn't crass nor is it mean spirited. If anything, the movie sort of embraces and even celebrates Andy's virginity rather than making it out as some awful curse. And one of the film's not so subtle messages is that the title character is not the only person in the film having trouble coming to grips with this crazy little thing called sex. There are certainly dirty moments to be found here, but these particular moments aren't labored - they arise naturally from various situations going on in the film. This isn't to say the flick doesn't go too far on a couple of occasions. There's a rather juvenile vomiting scene and a bit where a woman uses a shower attachment for purposes probably not covered in the instruction manual, but for the most part, this adult comedy, is extremely tasteful and smart. And in fact, even though this movie is R rated, I found it much less dirty than some PG-13 rated movies I've seen (Meet the Fockers for one). Furthermore, The 40 Year Old Virgin is at once structured but loose. In other words, director Judd Apatow (who worked on TV's Freaks and Geeks) allows for much improvisation, but not in the same way that Adam McKay allowed his cast to go off in Anchorman. This film, while not exactly restrained, offers up much more control. My biggest complaint with it is that it could have been tightened up. At a running time of nearly two hours, it suffers from excessive length - much like the recent Wedding Crashers.

I really enjoyed The 40 Year Old Virgin. As I stated, it isn't a go for broke comedy as I expected, but I applaud it for evolving into something much more substantial and compelling than it's one-joke premise. It's an interesting take on sex and relationships, and Steve Carell really sells it.