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Review
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Tedious and under-developed--- not as if it was worth
developing--farce about a guy who pledges not to have sex
for 40 days and 40 nights. This ends up, predictably, being
tied to his devotion to a special girl. Why, when a film is
so boldly pagan and voyeuristic, does it also seems so
utterly conventional?
The other problem with the essence of this film is that the
idea of going 40 days without sex is not particularly
compelling since most men spend most of their lives going
without sex for much longer periods. Although-- that said--
it includes masturbation. They do deal with the problem of
how would his friends, who are betting on when he breaks his
vow, going to know if he jerks off (his room-mate and
brother-- a priest). Intriguing aspect is that his brother,
John, the priest, is almost sadistically against the vow--
as if it threatens his own sense of self-worth. The love
interest-- Erica-- has a job searching for porn web sites to
add them to a blocker. His friends are right-- two dates
with Erica-- why hasn't he kissed her? Is he gay? The
issue obviously arises. The view from her office is
unbelievable. Logical problem: he gets really upset about
the betting and the website-- why not just lie and tell
everyone he did it? Who cares who knows whether he is
really abstinent or not, given the values of the film? The
scene at his parent's house is gratuitous. Marred by a
preposterous last fifteen minutes with fake crisis and
pyschologically unbelievable developments. Almost redeemed
by Ryan making a bet.
Okay if it retains a farcical tone, but it doesn't.
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