Forty days without sex — in any way, shape or form. Sounds like a hilarious twist on the old man vs. himself (and evidently, man vs. nature) premise, right? Not really. Obviously one cannot expect much given this background, but "Forty Days and Forty Nights," directed by Michael Lehmann ("Heathers," "Hudson Hawk," "The Truth About Cats and Dogs") nevertheless succeeds in tainting a situation with great comic potential.
Josh Hartnett plays Matt, an attractive Web designer living in San Francisco who can't seem to get over ex-girlfriend Nicole (Vinessa Shaw) six months post-break-up. A string of unfulfilling one-night stands only intensifies his longing for Nicole. He uses his brother (who, coincidentally, happens to be a priest) as a sort of psychologist (in a confessional, that is) in order to make sense of the vicious sexual cycle he is experiencing.
After a particularly disastrous hook-up, Matt revisits his brother the next day — which, you guessed it, happens to be the first day of Lent). He is struck with the idea to attempt the unthinkable: to give up sex — and everything sex-related — as his Lenten sacrifice. How exactly this vow of celibacy is supposed to directly resolve the Nicole issue is unclear, but this is in fact the basic premise for the rest of the movie.
Matt's extensive porn collection coupled with discouragement from his disbelieving, horny, sleazebag roommate Ryan (Paul Costanzo) are not enough to coerce a steadfast Hartnett back into his previously promiscuous lifestyle — at least not at first.
As Lent wears on, however, the conflict progresses from Matt against his own sexual urges to man versus man. Hartnett's coworkers catch word of his resolution and place bets on when he will finally succumb.
The bet eventually turns into a widespread, porn-sponsored Web site with high stakes and all of his coworkers want a piece of it. Matt finds himself confronted with bribes, scandal (someone slips Viagra into his orange juice) and a bit of enticing from his seductive female coworkers.
The plot grows thicker as Matt begins to wash his clothes on a regular basis, and becomes genuinely interested in the offbeat, beautiful Erica (Shannyn Sossamon) who he meets at the laundromat. He begins to develop a relationship with her while maintaining his vow of celibacy. Through some type of reverse psychology this seems to make Erica want him even more.
The biggest coincidence, however, turns out to be that Erica works for 'Cybernanny,' a company at which her job is to locate pornographic websites and block them for parents.
You can probably guess what happens next: she discovers the site regarding Matt's attempt to resist temptation and obviously becomes wary of the relationship.
Basically, the film is a synthesis of "American Pie 2" (raunchiness alongside attempted humor), "She's All That" (or any other teen movie involving some sort of bet), "Trainspotting" (inexplicable hallucination scenes, though in this case, always Freudian), and "Eyes Wide Shut" (gratuitous nudity . . . and lots of it).
It's not even as if the idea were totally original. Matt channels his newfound libido towards increased productivity in the workplace, taking on extra Web design assignments, building model cars . . . and of course, doing a great deal of laundry in his spare time.
If this premise sounds familiar to you, you're probably right. One can't help but be reminded of the 'Seinfeld' episode in which everything becomes "clearer" to George when he is forced to live without sex for a short period, and he begins to tackle novels by the shelf-full.
As the forty days of Lent progress, the film truly tests the limits of raunchiness. Just as the movie appears to graduate from an R++ to a full-fledged NC-17 rating, screenwriter Robert Perez makes a pathetic attempt to convey some sort of message about "connecting" with someone in the quest for a meaningful relationship. So is it a romantic comedy or a really bad spin-off of the "American Pie" genre? Just pick one!
On the upside, the acting isn't too bad, and the film boasts a pretty catchy soundtrack. Neither, however, are able to rescue the film from the ranks of those that probably aren't even worth seeing on video. With that said, it shouldn't be hard to resist the temptation of Josh Hartnett just this once.
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