This Is 40

If you've seen any of Judd Apatow's films, you know the director's approach to filmmaking: gather up as many of his Hollywood friends as possible and let the camera run as they improvise through different situations (while making sure to promote his favorite musicians, this time being seasoned British rockers Graham Parker & the Rumour). With This Is 40, a "sort-of sequel" to Knocked Up following Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) as they struggle to balance their relationship with parental responsibilities, Apatow embraces his formula more than ever. Replacing anything resembling a central narrative is scene after scene of the couple chatting in the bathroom, eating pot cookies on vacation, and cringing through their annual checkups, with plenty of hilarious and relatable moments along the way.

This free-form approach works for an hour or so, but at a whopping 134 minutes, the film runs out of steam around the halfway point. Cameos come and go and shouting matches fly by like they're going out of style, but somewhere around Pete and Debbie's thirteenth fallout it's hard not to wish for Apatow to try his hand at a tight, 90-minute comedy for a change. But for another opportunity to watch over two hours of funny people being funny, This Is 40 is a safe bet.