Always Trouble at 40 - Blu-Ray

Movie: Actually, married couple Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd) were born just days apart in the same year. Yet this year, instead of celebrating her 40th birthday like hubby Pete, Debbie is only celebrating her 38th. Because she just doesn't feel ready for 40 yet. There's still so much she wanted to get done and experience before then, so two extra years is just necessary. Pete has no problem playing the game for his wife. And even when she starts changing the family's menu and changing all the pleasant aspects of everyday life with health-conscious and responsible things, Pete takes it in stride on the outside. But inside he is seething. He withdraws more and more often, doesn't tell Debbie that his record label is about to go out of business and that he still regularly gives his father (Albert Brooks) money that he would actually need much more urgently right now. The fact that his daughters Sadie (Maude Apatow) and Charlotte (Iris Apatow) also need constant attention doesn't make things any easier. And so the tensions increase more and more and the feelings decrease more and more, until the question arises whether the love is still enough to really spend the rest of life together...

The married couple Debbie and Pete is already known from the comedy The First Time, where the two, however, only played a rather minor role. Nevertheless, Judd Apatow has now put them at the center of their own story in Always Trouble with 40, which he has once again staged as a mixture of very true-to-life moments and crude humor. In front of the camera again family members like wife Leslie Mann and the two common daughters Maude and Iris, but also many friends like Paul Rudd and Jason Segel may act. The family atmosphere that this creates on the set is a significant factor in the functioning of Judd Apatow's films. This is because the good chemistry between the actors creates a certain credibility that makes the characters very authentic figures, despite some exaggerated characteristics.

So then many viewers will definitely be able to recognize some situations from the chaotic everyday family life of Debbie and Pete. This is especially in the first half of the film mostly very funny, but at the same time does not spare more unpleasant moments. Although Always Trouble with 40 is first and foremost a comedy, but since it wants to depict not only the highs but also the many lows of a marriage, quieter and dramatic moments also come into play again and again. This mixture has, after all, already distinguished Apatow's earlier films, but rarely seemed as true to life as it does here.

While some of the dialogue is quite great and the film has many nice touches to offer, such as the daughter obsessed with the series Lost (any fan of the series will be very pleased with the amusing take on the last episode) or the revelations of the ways in which one wishes one's partner to die, other aspects simply fail to convince. The somewhat too inflationary use of vulgar dialogues and unnecessary side characters clouds the overall positive picture a bit. The impression remains that the film didn't really need the over two hours running time and would have worked much better and more coherent in a slightly tighter version. Sure, it's simply Apatow's style to counteract threatening kitsch through the regular use of below-the-belt gags. But in the long run, it's just not as funny as it was in his first films, instead coming across as a bit too forced and predictable.

No question, Always Trouble at 40 is a charming and funny film especially for those viewers who can laugh at typical Apatow humor. When Debbie makes one of her daughter's classmates cry because he made unflattering comments about Sadie on the Internet, or when Pete then clashes with that boy's crazed mother (Melissa McCarthy), it's just as funny as the men drooling without restraint at the sight of Megan Fox in a skimpy bikini. Still, the comedy too often lacks pace, especially in the second half, as the story keeps getting unnecessarily bloated. It's nice and amusing, but unfortunately not much more. However, if you liked The First Time or How Life Plays, this marriage crisis can also be recommended to you. Therefore, applies: with deductions worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the Blu-Ray is on a very high level. The image sharpness is great and lets even small details and textures come to the fore. The coloring looks very warm and natural and also the tuning of black levels and contrasts support the positive overall impression of the image quality. The same can be said for the sound. Although there is no big effects fireworks due to the genre, yet the surround channels are repeatedly claimed by atmospheric ambient sounds and minor sound effects, resulting in an overall very coherent sound carpet. Very good!

Extras: Even if the German viewers do not come into the pleasure of the almost 3 minutes longer Extendet Cuts, which has appeared about in the U.S. or England, so the bulging bonus offer fully compensates for this small shortcoming. It starts in the documentary section with a two-part Making of (approx. 50 min.), in which those involved go into detail about the making of the comedy. Supported by film clips and footage from the shoot, Apatow talks about, among other things, why he decided to make Debbie and Pete the main characters of his film, where the idea for the story came from, or what it was like working with his own kids. A very nice making of, be idem the usual promo praise is kept within pleasant limits.

Continues with a short documentary about working with Albert Brooks (approx. 11 min.), as well as a very interesting documentary about the reunion of Graham Parker & The Rumour (approx. 17 min.), which plays an important role in the film. In the music section the band is allowed to show in five performances (approx. 20 min.) that they still harmonize very well together.

Although the film itself is a bit too long, a lot of material ended up on the cutting room floor. Among them are the 14 unreleased scenes (about 36 min.) that are on the Blu-ray. However, a few extended and alternate scenes (approx. 18 min.), two gag reels (approx. 8 min.), as well as outtakes and alternate takes cut together in quick succession in the Line-O-Rama (approx. 8 min.) and Brooks-O-Rama (approx. 3 min.) were also salvaged from the editing room and pressed onto the Blu-ray. Although it's often apparent why certain scenes or alternate takes didn't make it into the film, there are plenty of amusing moments worth watching among all this material.

Supporting actor Robert Smigel also gets his own featurette with Cycling with Barry (approx. 3 min.). Smigel is not only an actor, but also a comedian and writer. As part of his work for Conan O`Brien`s Late Night Show, Smigel created the character Triumph the Insult Comic Dog years ago. This very popular character is a dog hand puppet who, in the best tradition of comedians like Don Rickles, provides laughs with nasty audience insults. And when Simgel has stars like Paul Rudd, John Lithgow or Megan Fox around, he of course doesn't miss the chance to sic Triumph on them. The extremely irreverent, yet very funny result can also be admired on the disc (approx. 9 min.).

As with any film involving his children, there is again the featurette Kids Run Free (approx. 12 min.). Now in its third edition, this bonus feature also shows how Apatow worked with his children on the set. Finally, there's an amusing commercial with Jason Segel (approx. 1:27 min.), as well as an optional subtitled audio commentary by Judd Apatow on the film. It's a shame he didn't get any of the cast to join him in the studio, but since Apatow is a very passionate narrator who has a lot of interesting and amusing things to say about the filming, that's very easy to get over.

An overall bonus package as interesting as it is amusing, leaving little to be desired. Very good!

Conclusion: Always Trouble with 40 is charming and funny - at least if you like the somewhat special humor of Judd Apatow. The comedy has some very well-observed and true-to-life moments to offer, but overall is just too long to please all around. The Blu-Ray, on the other hand, leaves little to be desired, as it is technically very well realized and also offers over three hours of bonus material. For this there is then despite smaller lengths and humorous Rohrkrepierern a deserved: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp