FIRST TIME LUCKY

REVIEWED - THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN: IT MAY be little more than a loose collection of comic bits, and it is certainly at least 20 minutes too long, but The 40-Year-Old Virgin still qualifies as the best mainstream comedy of the summer.

Steve Carell, star of the US version of The Office, plays a stock-room assistant who, by the age of 40, has accumulated more movie action figures than could ever be healthy. One night, while playing cards with his boorish but fundamentally decent colleagues, he lets it slip that he has yet to break his cherry. They announce their intention to rectify the situation.

Vomiting, car crashes and embarrassing encounters with prophylactics follow. But, despite all the horridness, The 40-Year-Old Virgin remains a surprisingly warm-hearted film. The roaring boys are shown to be hollow in their boasts and the film's eventual denouement might play well at a True Love Waits convention.

Though Carell's restrained performance is effective, much of the film's success is down to the contributions of the fine supporting cast. Paul Rudd, Romany Malco and Seth Rogan do great work as the hero's colleagues. "Do you know how I know you're gay?" one asks. "Because you're gay and you think you know who's gay?" comes the reply. (Let's be honest. If you object to this sort of sophomoric humour, then you were never likely to go to a film named The 40-Year-Old Virgin anyway.)

We should also give a nod to the director, Judd Apatow. He provides a surprising amount of pleasure for a - hem, hem - first-timer.