The movie opens with a choppy home video montage of our disarming protagonist Matt Sullivan (played by Josh Hartnett, "Pearl Harbor" and "The Virgin Suicides") and his alluring girlfriend Nicole (Vinessa Shaw, "Eyes Wide Shut"). We witness the rapid dissolution of their relationship, which has left Matt an emotional wreck. The emptiness of his torrid sexual affairs overwhelms him and in a moment of epiphany he vows to give up sex for Lent.
The rules are strict: One – No sex; Two – No sexual intimacy of any kind, i.e., no kissing, no nibbling, no fondling, etc; Three – No masturbation. Our hero meets the challenge with a positive outlook, but a high stakes betting pool about the probable length of his success, several run-ins with the vicious ex, and the sudden arrival of the girl of his dreams complicate matters.
Young Matt goes about his business in the typical tragic-comedic hero fashion, while, the truly humorous facet of the film is the struggle of those around him to come to grips with what he is doing. The scoffs of his buddies transform to quizzical looks as they begin to wonder if he might actually be "on to something." Meanwhile the smirks of the women around him turn to glares as they feel their "power" wrested away from them.
There is, indeed, a lot of talk about "nature" and "science" and "the system," all revolving around the central theme that men are chained by sex and women hold the key. This would be very unfortunate if the movie finally sympathized with this view, but it doesn't. What saves this movie is the way it departs from this socio-anthropological pseudo-commentary and returns to the level of the personal. The conflict of this movie is not 'man against the machine', but 'man against self'.
The acting is serviceable; Hartnett is amiable and Shaw is despicable, just as they ought to be. Shannyn Sossamon ("A Knight's Tale") is absolutely wonderful as the love interest, Erica Sutton. Ryan, the sketchy best friend, and Sam, the sassy confidante (true staples in modern pop-comedy) are well played by Paulo Costanzo ("Road Trip") and Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Riding in Cars with Boys"). Griffin Dunne as Jerry, the sex-obsessed boss, and omniscient "Bagel Guy" Michael Maronna are added bonuses.
A warning to the squeamish: despite the premise of abstinence, "40 Days and 40 Nights" is incredibly sexual, and it is assumed that everyone is obsessed with the pursuit of sex. In addition, there are two less obvious caveats for more sensitive movie goers. The first is that while the sex obsession takes on a humorous, obviously exaggerated quality for the males in the film, the women are portrayed as either incredibly naïve or downright sinister. If you're looking for a positive female role model, you won't find it here. Second, despite the fact that the premise is rooted in the Catholic religion, the movie at its best only caricatures religion, and at worst is utterly blasphemous. If you have strong religious convictions, take this movie with a huge grain of salt, or stay home.
In all, this movie is a delightful way to waste an hour and a half. While the twists and turns are predictable for any seasoned viewer, the laughs make up for it. The script is tight, the dialogue is snappy, and the plot departs from 'the true story' just enough to be entertaining. On that note, I leave you with a quote that is not in the movie, but can be found in The Diary of (writer) Robert Perez: "I have a feeling this has been going on since the beginning of time: Man pursues his ideas of greatness and Woman thinks it's cute."