‘This Is 40′ Trailer: Judd Apatow’s Sort-Of Sequel to ‘Knocked Up’

1 year ago by Sandy Schaefer

The latest product from House Judd Apatow, The Five-Year Engagement, hits theaters this weekend, and with it comes the first theatrical trailer for This Is 40: a (sorta) followup to Knocked Up that looks at what married with kids couple Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are up to, now that they’re about to become officially middle-aged.

Apatow wrote, directed, and produced This Is 40, which also features familiar Apatow-verse faces as Jason Segel, Charlyne Yi, his real-life wife (Mann) and daughters, Maude and Iris. The supporting cast is rounded out by seasoned comedic talent in the forms of Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Melissa McCarthy and Lena Dunham (Girls). Did we mention Megan Fox is in this too? (Odd though it may seem…)

As expected, the trailer for This Is 40 makes the film look like Apatow’s customary serving of raunchy laughs and awkward humor, blended together with some tender (if occasionally gooey) sentiment and relatable drama about the challenges that come with family, relationships, aging – and just being an adult, in general. Nothing surprising, for sure, but like they say: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The handful of jokes and character beats included in this first trailer are definitely worth a chuckle or two – be it the glimpse at what could be another scene-stealing turn from McCarthy (fresh off her Oscar-nominated role in Bridesmaids) – or that end sight gag, with Pete wanting Debbie’s help checking out his… ahem, nether regions.

this is 40 trailer paul rudd leslie mann This Is 40 Trailer: Judd Apatows Sort Of Sequel to Knocked Up

The happy (?) family in 'This Is 40'

All three of Apatow’s previous feature-length writing/directing efforts (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People) adhered pretty closely to the “Apatow formula,” with each subsequent film being comparatively more serious than its predecessor. That trend looks to change somewhat with This Is 40, which falls somewhere between Knocked Up and Funny People, as far as the comedy-to-drama ratio goes.

That’s all to say: with a well-established cast and Apatow still working near the top of his game, This Is 40 should go over well with the moviegoing masses, more so than Funny People managed to. Of course, more important than that (for our purposes) – it actually looks like a pretty good movie.