'The 40 Year Old Virgin' Is Coming To Netflix Next Week

Christmas is coming, so you're going to need plenty of stuff to watch during periods of awkward/sour atmosphere brought on by unavoidable encounters with distant family members.

Thankfully, Netflix and The 40-Year-Old Virgin are coming to the rescue.

The 2005 comedy follows Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) and his toils as a man who is both 40-years-old and a virgin - surprise surprise.

Upon realising Andy has reached middle age without popping his cherry, his mates task themselves with getting him across the line, taking the piss quite a lot along the way, as all good mates would.

The film was co-written by Carell, who has gone onto become a household name since making the film, in large part due to his starring role in the US remake of The Office. The film also features several other big names in the world of comedy acting, including Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd.

When the film was released, it was criticised by some commentators who felt the premise unfairly stigmatised not losing your virginity when out of wedlock. However, by and large, the film was very well received.

In the US box office, the comedy grossed more than $109 million (£85 million), according to IMDb. The film also has a rating of 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 73 percent on Metacritic.

An Empire review of the film reads: "Carell has a natural gift for making the mundane uproarious and remaining loveable throughout (it's a measure of his charm that his insistence on keeping cherry firmly intact never seems pathetic) that elevates even the basest comedy moments... although two morning-erection jokes is pushing it.

"With 15 minutes edited out, this could be a contender for best comedy of the year and a possible rom-com classic."

Indeed, it was not just Empire who noted that the film was a touch on the long side, at 116 minutes, so make sure you're well settled in with a hot beverage laced with Irish cream before you start... Or perhaps break it up into two sittings? Do what you bloody well please I say, it's Christmas (sort of).

The film will be streaming on Netflix in the UK from 7 December, as will The Big Lebowski, if you fancy a real classic.

In the meantime, if you're at a bit of a loose end Netflix wise, watch Dogs. The new six part series is very similar to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, in that it does exactly what it says on tin - who doesn't love dogs?

Topics: TV and Film

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey