This is 40

"This is 40" could be titled "This is 40 Minutes Too Long".   It's a big swing and a miss for me.  Sure, some laughs were had here and there, but a meandering mess with uneven pacing.  Maybe Judd Apatow was going for the "life happens" type of screenwriting this time around, but it results in a scattershot feeling that seeps throughout most of the film's running time.

Leslie Mann (Apatow's wife) doesn't quite have the dramatic chops to really dig into some of the more dramatic scenes, and in other scenes, she comes across a bit too shrewish as Debbie (who has a hard time coming to grips with turning 40).  Paul Rudd's Pete is also at the crossroads of turning 40, with a business that's crumbling, and his family's way of life doing the same.  Rudd tries, but again, not much meat on the bones of the script this time around.

Apatow's kids aren't given good material to work with, so their "Sadie and Charlotte" sister act gets old quick.  Megan Fox is actually a bright spot in the film, even with being casted as the younger, hotter employee in Debbie's clothing store (with guys draping themselves all over her at every opportunity), her few scenes pumped some life into an otherwise mediocre film.  Charlyne Yi is simply a bad caricature in the film.  Albert Brooks as Pete's dad does throw out a bit that will get some attention due to the recent events in Newtown, CT, but I'm glad they kept it in.  Just unfortunate timing, but there you go. 

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.   I might pare it down to a C if I think on it more.