I was so busy this week, I never got a chance to report on The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which I saw last weekend. It’s hilarious and you should definitely see it. Okay, that’s not a particularly insightful comment, but there you go.
One of its strengths is the script by Judd Apatow and Steve Carell, which avoids a number of mistakes that it could have made. For example, the character of Andy Stitzer collects toys; his potential girlfriend sells collectables on eBay. You’d think that plot point would be used to create some sort of cheap resolution, but instead it is used to create new problems.
Also saw The Wedding Date. Ugh. Not even all that good by chick flick standards. The mother, played by Holland Taylor, is such an awful person, as is the sister, that it destroys the delicate balance that a romantic comedy requires. Your fictional family can be critical or annoying, but not soul-destroying. Interestingly, the same scenario was played out on an episode of Monk last week, with Holland Taylor playing a critical mother favoring the child getting married over her daughter, just like in Wedding Date, only funny.
I also finally saw Shattered Glass. I have had a long-time fascination with Stephen Glass, as you can see here. It was very good. It was the first decent performance by Hayden Christensen I’ve ever seen. Peter Sarsgaard was fascinating, as he tends to be. I want to ask Adam Penenberg, “How cool is it to be portrayed by Steve Zahn?” I also found it amazing how accurate the film is, a rare thing indeed, not only in terms of the specifics of the case, but also in the way it depicts journalism.
Here is the opening of “Hack Heaven,” the article that finally destroyed Glass:
Ian Restil, a 15-year-old computer hacker who looks like an even more adolescent version of Bill Gates, is throwing a tantrum. “I want more money. I want a Miata. I want a trip to Disney World. I want X-Man comic [book] number one. I want a lifetime subscription to Playboy, and throw in Penthouse. Show me the money! Show me the money!”
UPDATE: Adam Penenberg graciously answers our question:
If you’re asking what it was like to be portrayed by Steve Zahn… Frankly, when I first heard about the casting choice, I was a bit worried. After all, Steve Zahn is known for playing loveable losers with drug problems (“Out of Sight, “Driving in Cars with Boys,” etc.) But he did a great job. As my wife said, “He does you better than you do you.”
The best piece of advice I got came from my agent, who told me when I first heard I’d be played in the movies, “Enjoy it. It’ll never happen again.” So I did. I went up to Montreal to watch them shoot for a couple of days and meet some of the actors, attended the Toronto and Savannah film festivals, gave dozens of lectures and talks on ethics, did interviews, went to the premiere and walked the red carpet a few times. I was glad when it was over but overall it was a lot of fun.