The 40 Year Old Virgin

John Cervenka

English 312

Film & Literature

Professor Wexler

The 40 Year Old Virigin & The Oedipus Complex

Although I have studied the Oedipus Complex in other classes, I have never related it to films. I find it so interesting that so many of today’s films can be tied back to the Oedipus Complex and the men having issues with growing up, dealing with reality or having unhealthy relationships. A film that instantly popped into my head when thinking about the Oedipus Complex was The 40 Year Old Virgin.

The film deals with a forty year old man who is still celibate, which is not a bad thing, however, he also is still like a 12 year old boy. He collects toys, rides his bike to work and has barely any friends. He has the sort of innocence that one might have at the age of ten or twelve years of age. He finally starts to make friends and they confront him about his virginity. The decision is universally agreed upon that Andy, (the virgin) must lose his virginity to gain his maturity and his independence. It is at this point that Andy begins his quest to shed his virginity and be a new person, however, things do not go as planned and he encounters many obstacles. He eventually finds a woman who he falls in love with and marries, but he still somehow maintains his innocence and demeanor. The movie strangely ends with a musical rendition of The Age of Aquarius.

I think that perhaps the reason Andy is still basically living in the world of a twelve year old is because he might not have had the best childhood. We see so often that when people have traumatic childhoods, they seem to stay mentally and emotionally at the point that the trauma began. It seems possible that Andy’s mother was overbearing and strict, instilling a deep sense of morality within him. She may have also been abusive since we see in the film that he feels so inferior to women, similarly to what a Woody Allen character might. Andy feels like sex is a horrible thing that is wrong and sinful. After his friends explain to him that its natural for a man to be sexually attracted to women, he starts to understand. It is almost as if he is going through adolescence a second time. He is growing up and breaking the confines of what his childhood taught him.

Sigmund Freud would have understood Andy to have lived a very unhealthy life. Freud believes that sexual desire is part of human life and is the primary source of energy and therapeutic relief. Seeing that Andy had repressed his sexual desires for so long, he must have been backed up with angst and tension. Freud would most likely have taken the same approach that Andy’s friends did and encourage him to feel comfortable with himself and his sexuality. He would have explained that there is no shame in feeling turned on by a woman, for after all we are all sexual beings.

Work Cited

The 40 Year Old Virgin Directed by Judd Apatow, Written by Judd Apatow

and Steve Carell