40 DAYS, 40 NIGHTS
US, 2002, 98 minutes, Colour.
Josh Hartnett, Paulo Costanzo, Barry Newman, Mary Gross, Maggie Gylenhaal.
Directed by Michael Lehman.
A young adults' sex comedy that is part leering and part moralising.
Website designer, Matt, is pretty well sex-obsessed but had hoped for a permanent relationship. When he is dumped, his seminarian brother talks about abstinence. It is Lent, so he makes a vow of celibacy for the 40 days and 40 nights - although by the end of the time, the film-makers have forgotten that Lent ends with Easter. Needless to say, there is a lot of temptation and frustration for Matt, bets from his co-workers, lots of innuendo and not so innuendo and, maybe, a happy ending. Josh Hartnett tends to play the comedy and the pratfalls straight which makes him gawky but almost believable which may be the best thing to do to give the comedy a semblance of humour and satire. The director is Michael Lehman who did better with ambiguous material in Heathers and The Truth About Cats and Dogs.
1. Sex comedy? A comedy for those in the twenties? A situation comedy, sex jokes? How clever, how crass?
2. San Francisco, its apartments, the dot.com office, the restaurants? Musical score and songs?
3. The title and its reference to Lent, the Catholic talk, the image of the cross? The religious background with the quoting of Mark, chapter 1, and Jesus in the desert for Lent? The priest, the seminarian and the routines of confession? Yet no understanding of Good Friday and Easter and the culmination of Lent?
4. Josh Hartnett as Matt, serious, wanting to delete Nicole from his computer, his relationship with women, sex obsession, talking to his brother in the confessional, the idea of the vow? Explaining it to Jerry, Jerry supporting it and going on a vow himself? Ryan and his sharing the apartment, his womanising, temptations? The vow, at work, the girls trying to be seductive, the men making bets? His encounter with Erica at the laundromat? Attraction towards her, going out with her, the sexual encounter without touch, using the flowers? His imagination and fantasy getting worse? Going to his parents, hearing them talk about their sex life? Meeting Nicole and David? Misunderstandings, Erica being hostile? The men giving him the Viagra? Finally his being tied up, his fantasies, Nicole coming to make him lose the bet, Erica walking out? The aftermath, the explanations? Erica kissing him and knowing he was the man? The separating themselves in the room, the friends outside? Portrait of a character - or a stereotype in a stereotypic situation?
5. Erica and her friendliness, attracted towards Matt, going out with him, the encounter with the flowers? Nicole, the clash, her anger? Discussions with her friend and good support? The contrast with Nicole?
6. Ryan and his attitudes towards sex, taunting Matt, the bets? The friends and their betting, tricks, urging him? Nicole and her bet?
7. At the office, the girls and their talking about female power and control over men and therefore him having to break his vow?
8. His brother, their discussions, the seminarian and celibacy - his doubts, Matt fuelling his fantasies, kissing the nun, having time off?
9. Nicole, her relationship with Matt, the boyfriend, society, controlling, making Matt break his vow?
10. The sketch of his parents, their friendliness, the discussion about the operation, sex experience?
11. The overall impact of this kind of sex comedy - for younger audiences, identifying, for older audiences, critical?
