A Steve Carell Box Office Smash Is Blowing Up On Streaming
Actor Steve Carell has had a varied career ever since his Comedy Central appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a correspondent, and making waves with his starring role in the U.S. version of The Office. The performer known for dramatic parts in movies like Foxcatcher and Vice, Carell hit his stride when he starred in the Judd Apatow flick The 40 Year Old Virgin. Now, FlixPatrol is reporting that The 40 Year Old Virgin is available for streaming on Prime Video and the movie has been trending this week at number 10 on the streamer’s Top 10 list.
Produced and directed by Judd Apatow from a screenplay he wrote alongside Steve Carell, Carell stars in The 40 Year Old Virgin as Andy Stitzer, the titular virgin. Andy is a shy and introverted electronics store worker who has been unlucky in love and sex, vowing to not make sexual intercourse a priority in his life. When he divulges to his coworkers that he still hasn’t had sex at his age, the coworkers do everything they can to get their new friend laid.
Released in 2005 and currently available to stream on Prime Video, The 40 Year Old Virgin became the breakout movie that helped to launch Judd Apatow’s film career, where he became the go-to producer and director of hit comedies like Knocked Up and Trainwreck. In addition to Steve Carrell, the movie stars a number of comedic actors, including Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Jane Lynch, and Leslie Mann. Acclaimed dramatic actor Catherine Keener plays Carell’s love interest Trish, and her family drama with daughter Marla (Kat Dennings), takes center stage during some of the movie’s most hilarious moments.
Filmed in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, The 40 Year Old Virgin was released in theaters in the summer of 2005 and the movie was an instant financial success for both Steve Carell and Universal Pictures. The film went on to gross over $177 million against a budget of $26 million, and helped solidify Carell’s career as a comic actor just as The Office was set to debut on American television. The 40 Year Old Virgin was initially based on a sketch conceived by Carell while he was a member of Second City, and went on to become one of the American Film Institute’s Top 10 Films of that year.
As much of a success as The 40 Year Old Virgin became for Universal Pictures, Apatow, and Steve Carell monetarily, the movie is still regarded as an instant classic from the point of view of critics and audiences alike. Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks The 40 Year Old Virgin as Certified Fresh with a rating of 85% on its Tomatometer based on 188 critics’ reviews, as well as an Audience Score of 84% from over 100,000 verified user reviews on the site. Similarly, Metacritic reflects a Metascore of 73 based on 35 critics’ reviews and a User Score of 8.0 from 498 ratings, which typically denotes generally favorable reviews from critics and audiences.
