" I wouldn't have minded seeing a bit of reality thrown in. "

      Title: 40 Days and 40 Nights by Buena Vista Home Video

      Format: Chick flick ruefully disguised as a man's comedy

      Reviewing Monkey: Our Ape Masters

      The Hype: Sex screws with our minds. The period's there so I can wait for the groans. Heh. All right, all right, I'm sorry. I'll get off the sex puns. Anyway, sex does screw with our minds and 40 days and 40 nights is all about the way we let it rule our psyche. Dumped hard one too many times, Matt Sullivan has sworn off sex (of all kinds) for lent in hopes of squaring away his brain. Much chaos ensues.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Story and Acting: Quirky and definitely amusing, what I said above is really all you need to know about the setup for this flick. The jokes come in when the women in Matt's life figure out that a man swearing them off is both "taking back the power" and is much more attractive and, thus, begin relentlessly throwing themselves at him in what are supposed to be hilarious manners. Interspersed in all this is the backbone love story in which Matt meets the love of his life but is so busy going through his orgasmless state that he may miss his chance.
          Heading up the cast is Josh Hartnett (Blackhawk Down, Pearl Harbor) who continues to shine as a quirky leading man and following him are a bevy of ridiculously beautiful women. The acting is actually as solid as it can be in a film that can only be described as quirky and they try to play the outlandish script as close to the hip as possible.
          The good news is that the jokes are paced and often funny. The bad news is too fold- first that it is so heavily removed from any aspect of reality that this "everyman" story ends up having very little appeal to most men. Second it doesn't take you long to realize that promises of sex jokes and nudity have actually suckered you into watching a chick flick that, unless you have a date with you, you've just been duped out of your 20 bucks. 2.5 out of 5

      Action: What part of "it's a chick flick" didn't you understand? No action (aside from the mandatory amusing pratfall-esque stunts), no rating.

      Visuals and Directing: In general, the look and feel of the movie played pretty well with me. The shots are clean, the look is bright and pleasant, and- even though you can see them coming a mile away, the jokes are set up nicely. My only complaint is that 40 exists in that uber-sterile "Pretty Woman" world where every woman thinks every man should come from. I wouldn't have minded seeing a bit of reality thrown in. 3.5 out of 5

      Sound Track: Hip and nicely scored, 40's track alternates between modern pop and the occasional dramatic orchestra. Nice and unobtrusive. 3.5 out of 5

      DVD Extras: Let me say this again, as it's been said by millions of my fellow movie aficionados: Director's Commentary is Not a Feature! Unless you are a huge fan of the flick or they do something funny with it no one actually listens to it anyway. Give me bloopers, outtakes, behind the scenes, production notes…Anything! And you can't tell me a movie with this much crass sexual humor didn't have some great bloopers. But, alas, we get none of it. 1 out of 5

      Value vs. Price: No extras- just the movie and it hits retail between 25 and 30 bucks? Wait, I'm confused…What happened to the usual $20 price tag most movies carry? I don't get it… 2 out of 5

      The Verdict:

For a chick flick this movie ain't half bad. It irks me that it's presented as a guys comedy (it isn't) and that for thirty bucks you get squat in extras….But if you're looking for something to rent to keep the girlfriend happy but that won't cause you intestinal pain, here's a good choice.

      The Good: Lots of sex jokes and nudity.

      The Bad: So far fetched and predictable that you may fall asleep and miss the sex jokes and nudity.

      The Overall Ugly: I'm sure there are guys who like this movie…But only when their girlfriends tell them to.

      What it's Worth: Date rental.