Steve Carell is the hilarious virgin who somehow has missed an important rite of passage. The film is a fun, laugh it up party, and you will walk out of the theater trying to catch your breath.

Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell, The Office), works at a Circuit City-like store, lives in an apartment filled with boxed collectors’ toys, and has a bike as his only transportation. When his co-workers David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco) and Cal (Seth Rogen) are short a guy for their poker night, they ask Andy to join in.

After they take turns telling tales of their sexual escapades, it’s Andy’s turn and as he tries desperately (and hilariously) to make something up. The guys quickly figure out the truth and soon dedicate themselves to helping Andy solve his problem. They try a lot of things, from Date-A-Palooza (20 dates in an hour), to locking him in the store with pornography blaring on the huge TV’s.

Nothing works and Andy has given up hope, when a woman who works in the neighborhood, Trish (Catherine Keener), comes into the store and Andy waits on her. Trish seems interested in Andy and eventually he works up the nerve to ask her out. The two begin to date but Andy is too embarrassed to admit his lack of experience and does his best to avoid the whole issue. This puts Andy in many awkward but achingly funny situations.

The humor in “Virgin” is crude but hilarious. Carell is a very funny actor, and I think it is great that he has finally been given the chance to play the main character in a film. He’s been seen previously in supporting roles in films such as “Bruce Almighty,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Bewitched.” The latter two films starred Will Ferrell. I think it is safe to say if Carrell had played the lead roles in those films, they would have been much better. Fortunately Carrell has more leading roles in the works, having been signed to play Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart” and Sammy the Squirrel in “Over The Hedge.”

What really does surprise me though is that a film with this many laughs can still tell a coherent story. You may think this is a one-joke film (yeah, ha ha ha, he’s a virgin and forty!), but its not and it really holds up for the two hour length of the film. Behind all the raunchiness and crude comedy, there is the serious message that there is more to relationships than sex. It also sends the message that sex is everywhere in the media and that you can’t go anywhere without being exposed to it.

Director Judd Apatow has made a complete recovery with this film. His past films, “Kicking and Screaming” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” were both mediocre. He has, however, written some really good TV comedy such as Freaks and Geeks and The Critic.

I will say that this film will appeal more to guys because it is a crude and raunchy movie about crude and raunchy guys. If you like that sort of thing, it really is a great film and if you don’t see it, like Andy, you really will be missing something.

Rated R for pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use.
Running time: 116 minutes.

MAXimum Warning! This film is definitely not for children.