Directed by Michael Lehmann
Writing credits (WGA) Rob Perez

STUDIO SYNOPSIS:
40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS is a comedy about a guy who vows to stay celibate for 40 days and 40 nights. He thinks he can do it; it?s not that long. But when he meets the girl of his dreams, things get a little more complicated.

From the producers of "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary" comes "40 Days and 40 Nights" - America's first no sex comedy. It stars Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor) and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale).

Matt Sullivan's (Josh Hartnett) last big relationship ended in disaster and ever since his heart's been aching and his commitment's been lacking.

Then came Lent, that time of year when everybody gives something up. That's when Matt decides to go where no man's gone before and make a vow:

No sex. Whatsover. For 40 straight days. No touching. No kissing. No foreplay. No fooling around. No self-gratification. No nothing.

At first he has everything under control. That is until the woman of his dreams, Erica (Shannyn Sossamon), walks into his life. Now, with everyone betting he won't finish what he started, he's just trying to hold on, and hoping she's willing to hold out...
? 2001 Miramax

Review by
SIMON REMARK
simon_remark@hotmail.com
Film Reviewer
Simon graduated from Trinity Western University where he studied film under prolific screenwriter Ned Vankevich. He prefers independent and lower-budget films.

Our protagonist (Josh Hartnett) is a hip, twenty-something graphic designer who works for a dot-com company. For six months after being dumped by his hot, but not so nice girlfriend, he sleeps around trying to fill the void created by her absence. He confesses to his brother, a priest in training, after each sex-capade, and tells him about a recurring vision: During sex the ceiling begins to crack open and a black hole appears. (This is perhaps a symbol of the emptiness that accompanies promiscuity.) But one day during confession Hartnett has an epiphany: No sex for the 40 days and 40 nights of Lent, an escape from all the bullshit that goes along with it. He not only vows not to have intercourse but also vows not to masturbate, engage in foreplay or view pornography; he decides he won't even kiss.

But then the celibate Hartnett meets the girl of his dreams. They connect on an emotional, spiritual, intellectual level. Yeah right. At first this is what we are made to believe, but she has a problem with him not having sex with her, and he can't wait until the 40 days are up. Instead of focusing on the rewarding aspects of celibacy, like connecting with another human being on a more substantial level, the movie only focuses on the fact that our protagonist and his new love can't live without sex.

Hartnett struggles through the 40 days and nights. He turns down a couple girls at the office and even his ex-girlfriend, who rapes him in a scene towards the end of the movie (he has his roommate handcuff him to the bed so that he won't do anything stupid in the final hours of his fast, and also has his roommate leave the front door open to allow his new girlfriend in at 12:00 AM to have sex. However, his ex-girlfriend sneaks in and has sex with him while he's sleeping-it all has to do with a bet.) I was amazed that the movie passed it off as a mean trick. Rape is rape; it was non-consensual sex. I wonder how people would feel watching this same scene with the roles reversed.

When he is finished the fast, Hartnett and his new girlfriend have sex for 24 hours straight according to his roommate and buddies who are in the next room placing bets on how much longer they will last, until Hartnett comes out and kicks them out, including his roommate whom he tells to find another place to stay for the next 24 hours. To me this suggests that the fast was pointless. Hartnett and his new lover didn't connect on any level other than a sexual one. Neither could live without sex.

While I was entertained throughout much of the movie, I was disappointed with the message and outcome. If only Kevin Smith had made this movie, maybe it would have dealt with the protagonist's spiritual struggle and the various complexities of relationships formed under unusual circumstances (see: Chasing Amy). Instead 40 Days and 40 Nights is shallow and doesn't deal with any of the issues it could have. Even Hartnett's brother is caught fooling around with a nun near the end of the movie. In another film, like Keeping the Faith, I would appreciate the filmmaker showing that priests too are human, but here I saw the priest as just another sex-crazed twenty-something, unable to honor his vow.

And some of the office scenes are just over the top ridiculous. Apparently it is commonplace for young professionals to masturbate at work, come to work dressed like prostitutes and spread their legs for co-workers, make out in the storage room and openly talk about and place bets on a co-worker's sex life, even design a web page about it.

However, I didn't dislike this movie, there were some laughs. I was just disappointed with how the material was handled. I think it could've been thought provoking, but instead, as I previously mentioned, it chose to be yet another teen movie. In fact, in the end, even American Pie II had a more profound message.
Simon Remark

Hollywood often receives criticism for the morality portrayed in movies, few more notorious than that creation of the past few years, the teen-oriented sex comedy. However, 40 Days and 40 Nights is an interesting and unexpected twist on the sex comedy genre. This is a sex comedy which has abstinence (temporary, at least) as its theme. (It?s been done before, Aristophanes? Lysistrata comes to mind, although that was 2500 years ago!)

Not surprisingly, 40 Days and 40 Nights is a far different story from Lysistrata. The concerns are modern, the issues more serious, and the setting is?Christian. Christian?! A Christian sex comedy? I wouldn?t blame you for thinking that I?m joking, but 40 Days is explicitly about the sexual angst of a young Christian man in San Francisco, Matt Sullivan, played by Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down). Matt has suffered a devastating breakup, and like many people (Christians included), does not know how to regain his grip on life. An early scene shows Matt in a confessional, describing his feeling that he?s falling into ?a black hole.?

Matt longs for love, but like many people, settles for sex. His breakup with Nicole has left him floundering, and he covers his pain with sex, using weekly sexual flings almost as a drug. After six months, the meaninglessness is beginning to take its toll, and the ?black hole? of his addictive behavior is leading to a crisis.

Matt visits a church on Ash Wednesday (his brother is a Catholic seminarian) and has a revelation: Since this is the start of Lent, the season of repentance, self-examination, and sacrifice to identify with Jesus? temptations in the desert, he will give up sex for Lent. Not just ?sex? alone, but all sexual activity, period: hugging, kissing, pornography, and self-gratification. (This actually is the course of treatment used by sex-addiction 12-step groups.)

Having made a sacred vow, Matt steps out of the Church feeling peace for the first time in months. A heavenly light shines on him, Jesus smiles at him, and Mary gives him an approving wink. Suddenly, life is worth living again.

However, his vow is quickly going to become very tough to fulfill: He is about to meet Erica, the woman of his dreams. Not only that, but it?s quite an understatement to say he does not get any help from his friends?they begin betting that he?ll fail, which leads to side-splitting comedy. 40 Days is simply hilarious.

Furthermore, for a movie without a religious theme, 40 Days has one of the most natural depictions of Christians and use of Christian language which I have ever seen in a theater. There once was a time when the name of "Jesus" couldn?t even be mentioned even in religious movies. (Remember Bing Crosby as a priest in The Bells of St. Mary?s and Going My Way?) In 40 Days, Matt, his parents, his brother, and even his roommate talk freely and comfortably about God, Jesus, and sex.

This willingness to treat the spiritual and sexual sides of life is the most original aspect of 40 Days. We are all simultaneously spiritual and sexual beings, and many of us live in some degree of tension between the two. Young people (like Matt) are increasingly choosing to consider their bodies? urges before moral teachings, and often (like Matt), experience needless suffering because of it.

Another difference of this movie is a willingness to treat the light and dark sides of sex simultaneously. Matt?s parents speak openly about their satisfaction with their sex lives and consider them a gift of God. Another scene illustrates the dangers of confusing sex and love. Anguish is caused when one partner in a relationship tries to seduce the other, who prefers to abstain. Other scenes show how people can use seduction to purely selfish, evil ends.

Despite this originality, this emphatically is not a movie to bring the youth group to. 40 Days has an R rating, which should be taken very seriously for language and very frank sexual situations. It doesn?t provide a clear moral answer, and sends mixed messages about the virtues of abstinence. I would?ve loved for it to end with Matt taking Erica to church on Easter Sunday, but Hollywood wasn?t feeling quite that adventurous! Nonetheless, I would recommend it for parents and youth ministers of every kind. Want to know what your kids are going through? See 40 Days, and start bringing up the issues. If you don?t, be assured someone else will.

Shalom v'Tovah,

Jon
http://surf.to/frimmin

It is more necessary to love much than to think much;
always do that which impels you most to love.

--St. Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle

Matthew 4:1-11
The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, so that the devil could test him. After Jesus had gone without eating for forty days and nights, he was very hungry.

Then the devil came to him and said, ?If you are God?s Son, tell these stones to turn into bread.?

Jesus answered, ?The Scriptures say: ?No one can live only on food. People need every word that God has spoken.? ?

Next, the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. The devil said, ?If you are God?s Son, jump off. The Scriptures say: ?God will give his angels orders about you. They will catch you in their arms, and you won?t hurt your feet on the stones.? ?

Jesus answered, ?The Scriptures also say, ?Don?t try to test the Lord your God!? ?

Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. The devil said to him, ?I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worship me.?

Jesus answered, ?Go away Satan! The Scriptures say: ?Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.? ? Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help him.

40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS IN THE CBS JESUS MINI SERIES

Satan as a woman in the Jesus Mini Series.
This scene was cut by CBS-TV.
Click here to see it in RealVideo

More here

the finest day that I ever had was when I learned to puke on command
Subject: 40_Days_and_40_Nights
Date: Sat, 06 Apr 2002
From: claire

I would like for you to picture a twenty year old girl standing up, hands to her sides, blond hair, comfortable clothes, with an unsatisfied look on her face, staring straight at you..like she's got something to say. got the mental image? she's now going to give you her review of the film "40 days and 40 nights." ....there she is, standing there... and she then bends over from the mid-section area, hands on her knees and she spews forth gallons upon gallons upon pounds of vomit. a wonderful array of colors, smells and chunks of who know what. and then, very calmly and nonchalantly she wipes her left hand across her lips to remove any left over review, and returns to her previous upright position with a very satisfied look on her face. the previous is a description of this young lady's review on the aforementioned film. good day to you all.
claire

Response: So that means you did not like it? Or, did you have bad pizza before the film. Actually your review was not a review at all. Unless it was a comment about pizza or you physical health. -David

THIS COMMENT WILL NOT MAKE THE SITE
Subject: 40 Days and 40 Nights
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002
From: Scooby

MOCKERY OF LENT
Subject: 40_Days_and_40_Nights Too Much
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002
From: rep

I'm wondering, as a Christian, why I shouldn't be outraged at this shameful mockery of Lent.

Response: Your comment comes before the movie opened. Go see it and then comment. -David

IS IT PG?
Subject: 40_Days_and_40_Nights
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002
From: Kcov

is this a movie with josh hartnett and it is rated pg right?

Response: Nope, it's R. Thanks -David