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40 Days and 40 Nights

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This article is about Michael Lehmann's 2002 film. For Jesus' ordeal in the wilderness, see Temptation of Christ. For the 2007 Matthew Chapman book, see 40 Days and 40 Nights (book).
40 Days and 40 Nights
The text set is in a phallic column extending from Hartnett's crotch.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Lehmann
Written byRobert Perez
Produced byTim Bevan
Eric Fellner
Michael London
Starring
CinematographyElliot Davis
Edited byNicholas C. Smith
Music byRolfe Kent
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 1, 2002 (2002-03-01)
Running time
96 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$17 million[2]
Box office$95.1 million[2]

40 Days and 40 Nights is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, written by Rob Perez, and starring Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, and Paulo Costanzo. The film depicts Matt Sullivan, a San Francisco web designer who has chosen to abstain from any sexual contact for the duration of Lent.

Plot[edit]

Matt Sullivan lives in San Francisco with his roommate and best friend Ryan, working as a programmer at a webpage design company. His obsession with his ex-girlfriend Nicole, who unceremoniously ended her relationship with him 6 months earlier, causes him sexual dysfunction with other women, which he confides to his brother John, a Catholic priest-in-training. After disastrously trying to fake an orgasm on a date with a woman named Susie, Matt learns that Nicole is now engaged to a man she met while on a trip to France. Hoping to resolve his issues, he vows to abstain from sexual stimulation, including masturbation, for the 40 days of Lent.

On the first day of his celibacy, Matt purges his apartment of items of temptation and reminders of Nicole. He befriends a stranger named Erica Sutton at a laundromat, despite being unable to speak to her. Unbeknownst to Matt, his coworkers and Ryan start a pool to bet on how long he can last, which soon spreads online. On the 11th day, he revisits the laundromat to see Erica, who reveals she works as a “cyber nanny” filtering internet pornography. They form an emotional connection, and Matt takes Erica on a date riding the city bus, but awkwardly avoids kissing her.

The couple discovers his coworkers’ betting pool, complete with its own website. Matt tries to explain his intentions, but Erica remains upset, believing Matt made a bet about how long he could go without sleeping with her, and on the 22nd day, Matt's boss decides to join him in celibacy. Having fallen for Matt, she agrees to another date, where they encounter Nicole and her fiancé, at which point the date unexpectedly falls apart. Frustrated by Matt's vow and the feelings that he still has for Nicole, Erica breaks up with him. On the 26th day, Erica informs him that if he aspires to have any type of romantic relationship with her, then he should finish the vow he made. Struggling with his urges, Matt is forced to endure his coworkers’ attempts to sabotage him, such as hiring attractive women to seduce him into a lesbian threesome. He consults John for advice and assistance, but even a family dinner results in their parents, Walter and Beverly, discussing their own sexual history.

By Day 35 of Matt's vow, the pool has reached $18,000, and a colleague convinces him to give in, offering to evenly split the total with him if he breaks the vow. As Matt evasively escapes into the bathroom, he encounters his boss, who accidentally consumed a Viagra-spiked drink intended for Matt, masturbating in the adjacent stall. With the entire office staff waiting outside, Matt escapes through the bathroom window to Erica's residence. They reconcile with each other and spend an intimate night together without actual intercourse.

On Day 38, Matt suffers an inadvertent erection while at work and is sent home. Nicole arrives at his apartment, having ended her romantic relationship with her fiancé after finding out about his infidelities, but Matt, still determined to fulfill his commitment, repeatedly rejects her advances and sends her away, which only arouses her even further. Overhearing the bet the following day, she visits Matt's coworkers at his workplace, contributing her own $3,500 to the total and discovering that Matt plans to celebrate with Erica at midnight when his vow ends.

On Day 40, the long-suffering Matt is unable to stop picturing women naked. He awkwardly catches John kissing a nun; tormented by Matt's exploits, John is taking a sabbatical from the priesthood. Struggling to contain himself, Matt has Ryan handcuff him to his bed, and awakens from an erotic dream to find Nicole has raped him while he was asleep, just before midnight. Arriving just as Nicole is departing, Erica assumes Matt was unfaithful and dishonored his vow, and storms out. Determined to regain Erica's affections, Matt locates her at the laundromat, gives her a box of romantic moments they had shared together, and they finally kiss. As they consummate their relationship in Matt's bedroom for hours, Ryan and the coworkers wait outside and place new bets on how long he can last, until Matt ejects all of them from the premises.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Writer Rob Perez said they pitched the film to every studio in town, and eventually got a deal. Perez turned in the first draft a few months later and the film was greenlit. Thirteen months after having sold the pitch, filming began. The film was released a year-and-a-half later. In retrospect Perez noted how lucky he was that the film got made: "At the time I believed the film was made because of the script. However, in retrospect I believe it was made because of a confluence of a 20 completely random stars aligning. This included an influx of money at the studio from a new partnership; their recent films had been hits; young comedies like mine were connecting at the time; a few bankable actors in the age range wanted to play the lead; the executive(s) happened to like (or at least think it was commercial) the concept/script; and that the producer was hungry enough that when he hit road blocks, he found other ways to keep moving forward. I can go on, but hope this is enough to illustrate my point: the film was made because of 20 things that had nothing to do with the script."[3]

The film was shot primarily in Vancouver, but also featured some San Francisco locations,[4] including Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California.

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 39% based on reviews from 137 critics, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The site's consensus states: "As romantic comedies go, 40 Days and 40 Nights is smutty, sexist, and puerile."[5] On Metacritic the film has a score of 53%, based on reviews from 33 critics.[6] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.[7]

Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. He praised director Michael Lehmann for raising the film above the level of sexual sitcom, through his sympathy for his characters and use of humor to examine human nature. He also credited writer Rob Perez for dialogue about sex with "more complexity and nuance than we expect". Not wanting to reveal too much, Ebert explained he was dissatisfied with the ending, writing, "Nicole's entire participation is offensive and unnecessary, and that there was a sweeter and funnier way to resolve everything."[8] Variety's Todd McCarthy called it "A self-described abstinence comedy that is funny, sexy and silly in equal measure" but notes "had tried to deepen the film’s potentially serious themes as often as they make light of them, they might have come up with something more than the disposable farce at hand."[4]

Peter Travers called it "a one-joke sex farce", and complains "Yup, director Michael Lehmann, far from the glory days of "Heathers," has made a movie about a hard-on, in which he relentlessly pounds a flaccid premise."[9]

Box office[edit]

The film earned in its opening weekend $12,229,529.[10] It earned $37,939,782 at the domestic box office and $57,152,885 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $95,146,283.[2]

Accolades[edit]

In 2005 Empire magazine included the film on its list of "Worst Sex Scenes".[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  2. ^ a b c "40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  3. ^ Guerrasio, Jason (September 9, 2009). "From Hollywood to nobody". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  4. ^ a b McCarthy, Todd (21 February 2002). "40 Days and 40 Nights". Variety. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  5. ^ "40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "40 Days and 40 Nights". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  7. ^ "40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS (2002) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Roger Ebert (March 1, 2002). "40 Days and 40 Nights Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Travers, Peter (26 February 2002). "40 Days and 40 Nights". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  10. ^ "40 Days and 40 Nights (2002) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  11. ^ Lester Haines (30 Sep 2005). "Showgirls clinches worst movie sex scene award". The Register. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.

External links[edit]

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