40 Days and 40 Nights Information

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 during a period of abstinence from any sexual contact for the duration of Lent.

Plot

Matt Sullivan (Josh Hartnett) and his roommate, Ryan (Paulo Costanzo), are co-workers at a San Francisco dot-com company. Matt is obsessed with his ex-girlfriend, Nicole (Vinessa Shaw), who has just gotten engaged. He confides to his brother, John (Adam Trese), who is training to become a Catholic priest, that he has sexual problems because of his obsession. Matt vows to go without sexual activities for 40 days and 40 nights for Lent. In this movie it is also implied that Matt does not masturbate or otherwise actively seek orgasm for the same period, since doing so could be considered sexual. John warns Matt that celibacy is not easy; meanwhile, Ryan starts a popular office pool to bet on how long Matt can last.

Matt meets Erica (Shannyn Sossamon), a cyber nanny, and they begin to date. They face many challenges in their relationship, including her discovery of his celibacy vow and Matt's continuing feelings for Nicole. Matt's co-workers make many unsuccessful attempts to persuade him to have sex in order to win the pool, and as the days pass Matt's obsession with sex grows. At one point he angrily grabs a pornographic magazine from an office desk and begins to march towards a toilet stall in order to masturbate, but his co-workers stop him and convince him to maintain his pledge.

Despite the range of increasingly powerful cultural incentives to sex and orgasm surrounding Matt "? scantily-dressed women, billboards, et cetera "? Matt's commitment holds, and begins to frustrate a lot of the people around him who had fully expected him to break it long before he could get close to his goal. In the meantime, Erica and Matt are falling in love, and they plan a special encounter for the 40th night to celebrate him successfully completing his vow. On the 40th day, a newly single Nicole learns of the betting pool, makes a large bet and then rapes Matt while he is asleep.

Erica subsequently believes Matt dishonored his vow and was unfaithful to her, but Matt wins Erica back by reminding her of the special moments they shared during their relationship. The two reconcile in Matt's bedroom for many hours, with his co-workers making a new betting pool on the duration of their stamina.

Cast

• Josh Hartnett as Matt Sullivan
• Shannyn Sossamon as Erica Sutton
• Paulo Costanzo as Ryan
• Maggie Gyllenhaal as Sam
• Vinessa Shaw as Nicole
• Adam Trese as John Sullivan
• Griffin Dunne as Jerry Anderson
• Keegan Connor Tracy as Mandy
• Emmanuelle Vaugier as Susie
• Monet Mazur as Candy
• Christine Chatelain as Andie
• Stanley Anderson as Father Maher
• Lorin Heath as Diana
• Glenn Fitzgerald as Chris
• Jarrad Paul as Duncan
• Terry Chen as Neil
• Kai Lennox as Nick
• Chris Gauthier as Mikey
• Barry Newman as Walter Sullivan
• Mary Gross as Bev Sullivan
• Dylan Neal as David Brokaw

Production

Filming

40 Days and 40 Nights was filmed on location at Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California.

Release

Critical response

The film received mostly mixed to negative reviews, Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 38% based on reviews from 134 critics. Metacritic give the film a score of 53% based on reviews from 33 critics.

Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times give the film 3 out of 4 stars. He praises 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 credits writer Rob Perez for dialogue about sex with "more complexity and nuance than we expect". Ebert criticized the rape scene at the end of the film, in which he is not alone, saying "Nicole's entire participation is offensive and unnecessary, and that there was a sweeter and funnier way to resolve everything."

Box office performance

The film earned a worldwide total of over $95 million.

Accolades

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