“40-Year-Old Virgin” 2-Disc Double Your Pleasure Edition DVD Review
It was bound to happen. With 40-Year-Old Virgin’s rousing success in theaters and on DVD, a double dip release was inevitable. The only question we wondered was would the double dip be worth it (New deleted scenes? Extended film cut? More bloopers?) or would it just be a retread of the original release with some extra fluff?
For those that haven’t seen the movie, it revolves around Andy Stitzer, who is, as the movie title suggest, a forty-year-old virgin. Those that balked at seeing the film based on title alone are missing out—while it is largely a raunchy outing, the film does manage to pack a decent story in that doesn’t merely exploit and mock the “old guy who hasn’t had sex” aspect as the title suggests. It’s a hilarious movie through and through and easily ranks as one of my favorite comedies.
When a new addition of this film was announced, I was intrigued because I enjoyed the film so much. Unfortunately, the answer to my above question about whether it would be worthwhile or fluff release is that it’s both, really. The film and all the special features (from what I can tell, that is) return on this new two-disc set that’s packed with “over 90 minutes” of new stuff. These ninety-minutes range from new deleted scenes on top of all the ones from the previous release (which retain their commentary, while the new scenes on this release do not have any commentary), extended footage, promotional material (Comedy Central and CineMax featurettes), cast auditions and a video diary of the film from director Judd Apatow.
All told the discs are certainly packed with an insane amount of extras, but when compared to the previous release, it really doesn’t shine too much. If this was the original release, it would have been one hell of a release, but as is it reeks of “movie cash-in” (timed with, and including a ticket to, Apatow’s upcoming Knocked Up film). While it’s inevitable in the DVD market to get tie-in DVDs, sometimes you get ones that stand out (Sony’s Spider-Man 2.1 stands out because of the film’s extended cut) and other times you get what Virgin offers up—more of the same, which is not necessarily bad or good.
Included in the deleted scenes are two more The Office alumni: Jenna Fischer as a bar patron and Phyllis Smith playing Andy’s mother in a flashback. The new deleted scenes are all hilarious and worth watching if you pick up this release, but they aren’t worth double dipping if you own the previous DVD. Combined with the extra scenes are the aforementioned making-of diary, cast auditions and early cuts of scenes.
The making-of diaries are great to watch, if only because we didn’t get any real documentary style featurettes on the previous release. With these we get to see some behind-the-scenes action, as well as director insight on top of what we got on the commentary (also a carry-over from the previous release). The diaries are shot handheld style and are a lot of fun to watch, especially if you enjoyed the film as much as I did.
The video, audio and other special features are all the same as the previous release. Even the menus are mirrors of the old release, with simple navigation and quotes from the film playing over each menu. Sadly the disc art on this two-disc doesn’t mirror the old one, as this art is just black text on a silver disc, like a lot of Universal’s recent offerings. The packaging for this release is certainly better than the last though, with a flip covers that, when turned, changes the classic movie poster into a shirtless, half waxed “man-o-lantern” version. Funny? Yes. Pointless? Hell yes.
Overall this release is easy to pass up if you own the first version. However, if you don’t own the film and plan on going to see Knocked Up (a free ticket is included) this release is the one to pick up. It has everything from the original release and then some and makes for a more well-rounded experience of the film with the special features, although being an already two-hour long comedy, some will question whether they could withstand more of it.
40-Year-Old Virgin 2-Disc Double Your Pleasure Edition will be available on DVD on May 22nd.