Shrapnel Games Blog

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

So this week I saw The 40-Year-Old Virgin, a movie that was recommended highly by both people I know and the general critical mass. In the end I found it entertaining, not quite as good as I was led to believe, but then again when is anything as good as you’re led to believe? It does happen, but rarely, at least when it comes to movies.

Personally I felt that it could have been a lot funnier. There were plenty of opportunities that the filmmakers simply did not go to, all of which could have taken it to another level. It had its moments though (the solo golden shower made me chuckle).

It also bugged me that like most American comedies they feel the need to put some seriousness into the movie. Will Andy hook up with the right girl? Did he lose her for good? Gee, I wonder what will happen? Even playing Asia, which was a nice silly choice, doesn’t get them off the hook for throwing that whole section into the movie. Unfortunately this seems very common in so-called comedies, and it’s always annoying. That’s why I’ve always loved Seinfeld. “No hugs, no lessons.” Imagine if you were watching “Where Eagles Dare” and suddenly it turns into a Bollywood spectacle three-fourths the way into it. Or if “Re-Animator” turned into a sports drama right about the time the decapitated zombie doctor is molesting Barbara Crampton? (For those of you who have never seen Re-Animator I’m sure that last sentence was enough to pique your interest.) Yet every comedy, at least every American comedy (you don’t see this in Monty Python), has to have some sort of “message” act. Bleah!

But I had a bigger problem with the movie. In it Andy, the main character, plays video games, reads comic books, and has a massive collection of action figures. He also paints miniatures, a hobby well-known to gamers. And if you’re reading this I’m going on the assumption that you’re a gamer, unless you’re just someone who came upon this by Googling “virgin”. If you are one of those folks by now you should know to pull up your pants, this isn’t that kind of site.

So Andy is into a lot of “geek” stuff. Frankly I’m surprised they didn’t stick him with a complete set of D&D books. As a gamer, who knows many gamers, a lot of what he was into didn’t really surprise me. I know plenty of folks who like comics, play games, have action figures, and paint miniatures.

If you have not seen the movie when do you think Andy finally matures and becomes a man?

If you guessed when he loses his virginity you’d be wrong. That comes at the end of the movie, and is practically a footnote. No, the movie essentially tells us that he starts to grow up and act like a man when he gives up all his geek accessories. That’s when he finally becomes a 40-year-old man.

The concept of giving up stuff like playing games, painting miniatures, and so forth is not a new theme. You can go back to Rona Jaffe’s horrible, horrible book “Mazes and Monsters”, first published in the early ‘80s (maybe even late ‘70s) to see this theme. In her book a bunch of college students play a RPG called “Mazes and Monsters” (Hmmm…), one loses touch with reality, and bad things ensue. In the end they all learn to grow up and become mature and stable citizens by giving up role-playing games.

Many people think we’re living in a gamer’s paradise, that games have finally become respectable. Hell, there are even chicks playing video games now, it must be respectable. And movies…Uwe Boll is someone managing to keep food on the table and a roof over his head because of games. And television, they have entire cable stations devoted to computers and gaming. But in the end all that’s happened is they are more prevalent in our society, but we’re still second-class (or third). While it’s somehow socially acceptable to sit around in your living room surrounded by sports imagery (the Green Bay shirt, the Green Bay throw rug, the Green Bay coffee mug, the Green Bay wall clock, the Green Bay hat, the Green Bay watch), spending your entire day watching people play a game, it’s still not socially acceptable to relive history by spending your Sunday refighting Austerlitz on your kitchen table or your computer. And that’s a shame.

Season’s Greetings

Well, it’s that time of year again. For some of your it’s already Christmas, for the rest of us it’s Christmas Eve. I believe I can speak for everyone at Shrapnel when I say we wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!! Enjoy the fellowship of friends and family, and have a wonderful time!!

Merry Christmas folks!

-Scott