Review: 40 Days and 40 Nights

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Sometime during the course of human evolution there came to fruition the belief that the human male was largely influenced and motivated by his libido. A notion largely held by the female of the species, but one which has also made it's way into the realm of popular belief, and has become widely accepted by not only women, but men alike. Speaking on socio-biological terms, the aforementioned claim is perhaps a valid one. After all, the survival of our species is based on reproduction. Hence, it is an inherent fact that the males of our species are biologically driven to find a mate, impregnate her, and hence create a future generation to further prolong the survival of the human species. A rather harsh, and cold assessment of male sexuality, yes, and perhaps even a fair one... However, further down the line of human evolution there came into existence such wonderful human innovations as war, the atom bomb, and genocide, just to name a few. It would appear that the human species no longer cared to continue the survival of the race, and in fact, now sought out their own extinction. And with this need to end the human species, also came the end to the socio-biological explanation for the male preoccupation with sex. So if it isn't instinct or biology, then what is it exactly? Why is it that men seem like such horndogs?

Could it be that men really aren't the mindless, sex obsessed zombies that popular culture portrays us to be? Perhaps the assumption that all men are overwhelmed by thoughts of sex, is nothing more than just another abhorrent societal stereotype which has become an accepted truth? And sadly, if one is to believe that men are nothing but sex obsessed beasts, then one must also acknowledge the fact that for every sex crazed man in the world, there usually exists at least one willing woman to meet his needs. It takes two to tango, you see, and to believe in one stereotype (e.g. men only care about sex), is to believe in another (e.g. all women are whores). In reality, all men are not obsessed with getting laid, and not all women are whores. Despite the world's apparent collective preoccupation with sex, and despite what is portrayed in today's popular culture, there do in fact exist some men whose lives do not revolve around the almighty booty. Believe it or not, somewhere in the world, there is a guy laying on his bed, longingly looking out the window at the full moon, as he listens to Saint Etienne's version of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", and the last thing he is thinking about, is sex...

In 40 Days and 40 Nights, "it boy" of the moment Josh Hartnett plays Matt Sullivan, a stereotypical guy who is stereotypically obsessed with - yes you guessed - SEX. Still pining after his ex-girlfriend, Nicole (Vinessa Shaw), six months after the break up, all Matt can seem to do is move from one casual sexual liaison to another. Yeah, poor guy. However, despite night after night of presumably great sex, with presumably attractive women, Matt cannot help but feel the emptiness and void which accompany the casual sexual relationship. You see, kids, despite being a stereotypical guy who is obsessed with sex, Matt also happens to be the stereotypical male protagonist, of a stereotypical romantic-comedy. Therefore, despite being a bit of a player (e.g. man whore), Matt is also a sensitive, caring guy who longs to feel a real emotional connection with an equally loving and caring woman. One day, suddenly inspired by the religious self-denial of Lent, Matt decides to give up sex (and all things related to sex) for 40 days and 40 nights, in order to experience life on a more "meaningful" level. Of course Matt's friends - who are quite aware of his sexual appetites and activities - find this notion of abstinence to be preposterous and impossible. And instead of supporting or aiding Matt in his sexual deprivation, said friends organize an internet pool where people can make bets on when Matt will give in to his overpowering sexual cravings. Throw into the mix the sexy, but emotionally enticing, Erica (Shannyn Sossamon) as a laundromat temptress, stir for ninety minutes, an voila, comic gold... well, not really.

40 Days and 40 Nights is a movie so rife with societal stereotypes and clichés, that it can be nothing more than a stereotypical Hollywood romantic-comedy, with a contrived and novel plot device designed to seem original and quirky. From the movie's overall narrative structure, to the plot conflict which provides the movie's "dramatic" climax, 40 Days and 40 Nights proves that to simply follow the blueprint of the romantic-comedy does not necessarily mean that you will create a successful one. Existing in the days following the phenomenal success of such sexually liberal movies as American Pie and television series as Sex and the City, it is interesting to note that 40 Days and 40 Nights falls into a new category of romantic-comedy. The type of romantic-comedy in which the movie's protagonist deals with the once sacred issue of sex quite flippantly (for comic effect), and tends to be on the promiscuous side, despite still searching for that everlasting love (see: Bridget Jones's Diary). With enough erection and masturbation jokes to keep an entire high school gym class happy, at the end of the day, 40 Days and 40 Nights still tries to evoke from it's audience the sentimental romantic twinge usually associated with the more conventional, "softer" romantic-comedies of earlier times. No one ever said that sex and romance should never mix. In fact, under ideal circumstances, isn't that the way it should be? However, with a movie like 40 Days and 40 Nights, the sexuality found in it's narrative is used in a exploitative manner. Sex is no longer an act of expressing one's love for another, but instead, a tool used to evoke cheap laughter from the audience. In fact, it is not only the notion of sex which is exploited in 40 Days and 40 Nights, but its characters too. Rather than examining the human emotion which underlies the physical need to have sex, 40 Days and 40 Nights merely uses its characters to further the "dirty" humor which pervades the movie. Ultimately, 40 Days and 40 Nights does try to delve under the superficiality of sex in order to bring the importance of love and substance to the forefront, but in the end only manages to lightly address the subject. Perhaps if 40 Days and 40 Nights attempted to examine the sexual stereotypes which continue to corrupt the perceptions of men and women, instead of exploiting them, the tale of one man's abstinence in a world filled with temptation could have been an enlightening one (and still comedic), instead of one merely filled with cheap laughs and a lot of naked boobies.

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