What the corpus says about The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and wants to know what to watch next.

Below is what people who love movies said on three podcasts (Blank Check, The Rewatchables, The Big Picture) about The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and the films around it, one line each. Every line starts with where it came from, in brackets: [show · episode · time · speaker (how sure we are it was them)]. A [pairs] line says how often two films were put side by side. A [speaker] line says what that person likes. A [bits] line lists a show's running bits: a format, not an opinion.

[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:05:19 · Shea Serrano (0.85)] Easy A ↔ The 40-Year-Old Virgin · craft · Like that film's setup, the premise turns creepy without its star; Emma Stone's gravity holds Easy A together. · "It's like a very similar thing with the setup for the 40-year-old virgin, without Steve Carell in that movie, it becomes exceptionally creepy."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:08:36 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] Knocked Up ↔ The 40-Year-Old Virgin · contrast · Bill says the first half is idiots hanging out and the second half is more rom-com, less funny and more heartwarming; he notes 40-Year-Old Virgin was already covered. · "He did it in 40-year-old version too, which we've already done"
[The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:18:52 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Guardians of the Galaxy ↔ The 40-Year-Old Virgin · industry · A famous guest's point: Marvel movies are comedies and Guardians effectively replaced mainstream studio comedies. · "Guardians of the Galaxy is a comedy, and Guardians of the Galaxy has effectively replaced mainstream comedies"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:08:05 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] Judd Apatow ↔ The 40-Year-Old Virgin · craft · Bill says Apatow put idiot 22-year-old men into a rom-com, a trick he also used in 40-Year-Old Virgin. · "Judd figured out how to like put them in a rom-com and make it work."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 1:12:17 · Juliet Litman (0.50)] Judd Apatow ↔ The 40-Year-Old Virgin · verdict · Hall of Fame plaque for Apatow: 40-Year-Old Virgin vs Freaks and Geeks vs this movie. · "I think I would go with a 40-year-old virgin, but this is close."
[The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:20:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.60)] The 40-Year-Old Virgin ↔ Sean Fennessey · industry · Comedy dates quickly; this one will not be funny to people in 15 years. · "the 40-year-old virgin is not going to be funny at all to people in 15 years"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 1:46:09 · Juliet Litman (0.50)] Easy A ↔ Marvin's Room · programming · Juliet's first coed theater outing was Marvin's Room, in contrast to seeing teen movies with friends. · "The 1st movie I saw with like boys and girls, like it was like a co-ed group outing was Marvin's room, which is so depressing."
[The Big Picture · The Past, Present, and Future of Superhero Movies | The Big Picture · 0:17:03 · Jason Concepcion (0.40)] Guardians of the Galaxy ⇒ Ant-Man (the host's read) · programming · After Guardians' success with unknown characters, Ant-Man was an easy next gamble. · "you do Ant-Man after that because you're just like, yeah, let's do Ant-Man."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:03:48 · Bill Simmons (0.90)] Knocked Up ↔ Mean Girls · programming · Bill groups Knocked Up with Mean Girls, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Wedding Crashers, Sarah Marshall and Bridesmaids as the 'com-rom' cycle. · "Mean girls, 40 year old virgin, wedding crashers, knocked up, Sarah Marshall, EZA bridesmaids."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:12:38 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] Ferris Bueller's Day Off ⇒ Easy A (the maker said so) · lineage · Director Will Gluck has said Ferris Bueller is his favorite movie, and Olive's Mohawk and guitar bits echo it. · "I think the director, Will Gluck, has like talked about how Ferris Bueller is, I think, his favorite movie."
[The Big Picture · The Past, Present, and Future of Superhero Movies | The Big Picture · 0:52:39 · David Shoemaker (0.40)] Guardians of the Galaxy ↔ Avengers: Infinity War · programming · Guardians 3 is certain and Star-Lord is now a primary MCU figure. · "Chris Pratt, obviously, there will be a Guardians 3."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:18:31 · Bill Simmons (0.85)] Superbad ↔ Knocked Up · programming · Bill points out Superbad came out two months after Knocked Up. · "And by the way, Superbag came out 2 months after this movie."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:12:55 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] John Hughes ⇒ Easy A (the host's read) · lineage · Easy A is in open dialogue with Hughes: Olive says her life is not a John Hughes movie and the finale has a Hughes montage. · "But also she, like, literally says in the dialogue, my life isn't a John Hughes movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Guardians of the Galaxy · 0:59:57 · unknown (0.30)] Guardians of the Galaxy ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Captain Marvel provides context for the Nova Corps Cree and a not-yet-crazy Ronan, and Jude Law's Yon-Rogg. · "But the idea in Captain Marvel is he's not crazy yet."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:44:31 · Juliet Litman (0.50)] Knocked Up ⇒ This Is 40 (the host's read) · programming · Bill says the sequel is a more complicated movie than Knocked Up; Juliet says she doesn't like it as much. · "This is 40, that it was looming, which I think is a more complicated movie than this movie."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:52:04 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] The Scarlet Letter (Demi Moore version) ⇒ Easy A (the host's read) · lineage · The movie nods to the Scarlet Letter and its puritanical heritage; Olive jokes about watching the Demi Moore version. · "does its best or at least at times nods to the Scarlet letter and kind of like, you know, the puritanical heritage"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Guardians of the Galaxy · 2:13:19 · unknown (0.30)] Guardians of the Galaxy ↔ Howard the Duck · programming · The credits tag with Howard the Duck leads to talk about the comic being better than the Lucas film and Kevin Smith's animated show. · "Not the George Lucas film."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:53:40 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] Knocked Up ↔ Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy · programming · The pee-break category is named after the Anchorman flute scene; Bill uses it to mark Knocked Up's 7.5-minute labor stretch. · "The anchorman flute. P-break Award for best time to go go pee"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:56:33 · Juliet Litman (0.50)] Election ⇒ Easy A (the host's read) · lineage · Olive's unbothered, stronger-than-the-bully stance continues the Tracy Flick character through Book Smart's Beanie Feldstein. · "the Tracy Flick character that we have seen just grow and grow all the way up to like the most recently book smart with Beanie Felsian's character."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Thor: The Dark World · 1:59:51 · David Sims (0.30)] Thor: The Dark World ↔ Guardians of the Galaxy · programming · The Collector mid-credits scene already shows the Guardians' comic space weirdness; the speaker thinks James Gunn directed it. · "I think gun directed this. It's 100% difficult."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 1:11:24 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] Knocked Up ↔ The League (TV) · programming · Bill says Knocked Up may be the most high-profile fantasy moment in a movie, since The League is a TV show. · "It might be the most high profile fantasy moment."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:13:40 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] Easy A ↔ Mean Girls · theme · Both are self-aware teen comedies that know the tropes, though Easy A is far less vicious. · "You know, like in a way that mean girls does, though it's far less vicious than mean girls."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Avengers · 1:34:57 · David Sims (0.40)] The Avengers ⇒ Guardians of the Galaxy (the host's read) · programming · Thanos' Chitauri subcontracting sets up the cosmic films; Guardians is next on their Marvel list. · "We're gonna we're gonna cover Peter movie soon."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:03:12 · Bill Simmons (0.90)] When Harry Met Sally ⇒ Knocked Up (the host's read) · lineage · Bill dates the rom-com boom as starting with When Harry Met Sally and running to the mid 2000s, with Knocked Up on the other side of the shift. · "It starts with when Harry Met Sally."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:31:19 · Amanda Dobbins (0.45)] Easy A ↔ Book Smart · theme · Book Smart (like Easy A) has supportive parents who show up, played by Will Forte and Lisa Kudrow. · "Like we saw this in book and book smart."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:43:32 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Guardians of the Galaxy ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · lineage · As a prequel, Captain Marvel brings back Guardians characters Ronan (Lee Pace) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou). · "this is, of course, a prequel, so their characters appear in this film again."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:03:37 · Bill Simmons (0.85)] Mean Girls ⇒ Knocked Up (the host's read) · lineage · Bill thinks Mean Girls may have been the first to figure out 'more funny than romantic, but also having the romance'. · "I feel like mean girls might have been the 1st one that figured out."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Easy A’ · 0:49:20 · Juliet Litman (0.60)] Easy A ↔ One Tree Hill · theme · Mary Ann's clean-teen Christianity recalls the virgin-professing 'clean teens' of One Tree Hill. · "And that also reminded me of one Tree Hill, where they had the clean teens"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Guardians of the Galaxy · 0:35:50 · unknown (0.30)] Guardians of the Galaxy ↔ Star Trek: The Original Series · lineage · It has a Star Trek vibe, essentially a comedy with 60s Trek aesthetics. · "It's like someone doing a comedy with 60s trek aesthetics."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · 0:05:59 · Bill Simmons (0.90)] Starting Over ⇒ Knocked Up (the host's read) · lineage · Bill offers Starting Over (Burt Reynolds, a love triangle in Boston) as an early prototype of Apatow movies. · "It's got, it feels like a very early prototype of these Apatow movies."
[speaker] Bill Simmons · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · Loves the Friday series as a communal, rental-era memory and tells childhood stories about the ads and theaters. Likes casting what-ifs and sports analogies for everything. Skeptical of horror at Christmas and of anything that wastes the premise. · stances: Friday the 13th is not the best entry but the origin story had to be told; Friday 2 is a leap over the original
[speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
[speaker] Juliet Litman · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Knocked Up’ · Deeply versed in rom-coms (Nora Ephron is 'my personal god'), TV, and celebrity careers. Loves a good meal scene and a believable detail. Cannot stand a female lead with no friends or ambition. · stances: Alison has no friends and no inner life, the movie's biggest pitfall; Heigl torpedoed her own career with the Vanity Fair interview; Rom-coms of 89-05 are women-driven; Apatow flipped it; Double feature should be Adventureland
[speaker] Shea Serrano · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Fast 9’ and the ‘Fast & Furious’ Rankings · The franchise's biggest fan, loves family, Dom, Letty and stunts, and the first film as the centerpiece. Shrugs at villains and wants smaller street-racing again. · stances: The Fast and the Furious is number one; Tokyo Drift is the keystone; Worst moments are still really fun
[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

Recommend three to six films, and only films that appear in these lines. A series, a TV film, or a franchise counts too when a line recommends it or pairs it with The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) itself. For each one, give one short reason in your own words and say whose reason it is: the show, named exactly as the brackets name it, and the speaker when the line names one (an "unknown" speaker is just the show). If the lines are thin, say so plainly rather than stretching them.

Keep a contrast a contrast. When a line sets two films apart, the reason is how they differ; never turn it into a way they're alike. A line with ⇒ puts the source first and what drew on it second, and one marked "the maker said so" is still the host reporting it: say who said it, and never state an influence as fact.

You know only what's on these lines. Add no fact they don't state: not who directed a film, not what kind of film it is, not when it came out, unless a line says so. Say nothing about the store or how anything rents here.

Talk the way a clerk talks to a customer at the counter: plain text, titles written plainly with no asterisks or other markup, no headings, no lists of more than six, no JSON.