This Is 40 - Film4

Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are the couple reduced to neurotic messes as they hit 40 in this hilarious Knocked Up spin-off from writer-director Judd Apatow

Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are the couple reduced to neurotic messes as they hit 40 in this hilarious Knocked Up spin-off from writer-director Judd Apatow.

He reaps comic dividends from casting real-life wife Mann, as Debbie, and his own daughters as the couple’s kids, while, as Pete, Rudd’s familiar hangdog persona is perfect.

As the couple slowly drift apart, nit-picking, uptight Debbie is having trouble with light-fingered staff at the boutique she owns (Megan Fox is among the suspects), while the shambling, equally neurotic Pete is struggling to keep his independent record label afloat and staking everything on a new release by veteran British rocker Graham Parker.

The fact that he's constantly doling out money to his sponging dad (Albert Brooks) doesn't help, while Debbie gets no support from her emotionally distant father (John Lithgow).

The script could have been sharper, but the talented cast, which also includes Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd and Jason Segel, makes the most of the many funny lines.