Declining the casual sex solution offered by his older boss Paula (JANE LYNCH), Andy tries to follow his coworkers' advice that gets him hooked up with the likes of drunken floozy Nicky (LESLIE MANN) and the cute and eager Beth (ELIZABETH BANKS) who works at the local bookstore. Andy, however, is smitten with Trish (CATHERINE KEENER), a divorced mother of three and young grandmother of one who runs her own online auction store. They end up dating, but agree not to have sex until their 20th date. With his coworkers still trying their best to help him lose his virginity, Andy must decide how to proceed and with whom.

Similarly, hitting certain milestones in age determines who you are, how you feel about yourself and the way in which others treat you. Thirteen means you're a teen, while turning eighteen and then twenty-one finalize the last official steps into adulthood. Yet, there's something about turning forty that really puts the whammy on many people where, all of a sudden, you realize you've entered middle-age and are no longer a "kid" or young adult.

Imagine then if you hit that second milestone having never achieved the first. Worse yet, imagine what would happen once others found out that about you. That's the comedy gist behind the appropriately titled "The 40 Year Old Virgin," the latest entry in a long line of sex comedies where the goal, to put it as most any character states in such films, including this one, is to "get laid" or arrange for that to occur for someone else.

Most such sex comedies revolve around teens wanting and/or trying to "loose it," or of older people (divorced, widowed, etc.) trying to get back on the horse, so to speak. This one contains elements of both, as well as what I'd call the Ben Stiller angle. He's made a handsome living often playing the lovable loser type with simple goals who gets caught up in extreme and often funny predicaments.

With him having pretty much tapped out that character type, the baton has now unofficially been handed off to the next such character actor, Steve Carell. If that name doesn't automatically ring a bell for most moviegoers, some will recognize him as the pseudo news reporter on TV's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." He's also appeared in a host of supporting roles playing other high-strung and/or nerdy guys such as Brick Tamland in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" and Evan Baxter in "Bruce Almighty."

Here, he gets the lead for the first time and, like any good "nerd," takes off running with it. In fact, this could be a star-making role for the comedic actor who not only co-wrote the screenplay, but more than competently replaces Stiller and is easily as hilarious and perhaps more so in a surprisingly funny and endearing part.

The key to making such a role -- and the movie in which it appears -- work is to make the character likable, engaging and/or lovable. Surrounding context, of course, can't be ignored, and the material here is decidedly adult and pretty much of one mindset. Therefore it's not remotely for all viewers, although that shouldn't come as a surprise.

Nevertheless, Carell pulls it off and then some. Rather than being so nerdy so as to come off as annoying and/or simplistically one-dimensional and/or repetitive, the actor brings enough humanity and hilarity to the role that it works near perfectly. And a big reason for that -- which makes the film somewhat akin to the "American Pie" films and others of its ilk -- is that there's some heart mixed in with all of the naughty and/or raunchy stuff.

All of which is important since the film is overflowing with the latter. Yet, unlike the recently released "Deuce Bigalow" fiasco, this one's far cleverer and clearly far funnier than that effort. Along with Carell, writer/director Judd Apatow (making his feature directing debut -- having previously written and produced for TV's "Freaks & Geeks" and "Undeclared") obviously gets a lot of credit for that, effectively mixing the main comedy thrust -- no pun intended -- with various smaller elements that work just as effectively as their bigger and more dominant counterpart.

They and Carell also allow the supporting characters -- however raunchy, goofy and/or similarly one-minded many of them might be -- to shine alongside the star. Beyond some amusing, smaller cameos featuring Andy's past and current dating prospects , the likes of Paul Rudd ("Anchorman," "Clueless"), Romany Malco ("The Tuxedo," "The Prime Gig") and especially Seth Rogen ("Anchorman," "Donnie Darko") are all amusing in their supporting roles.

Not surprisingly -- and this is where a lot of the heart as well as a lot of the humor comes from -- there's a real romance -- featuring Catherine Keener ("Being John Malkovich," "The Interpreter") as the love interest -- buried within the naughty bits that eventually sprouts, blossoms and then takes over the film. While it might seem contrived and predictable at first, it more than manages to work.

As does the overall film. While I initially responded to the effort and its trappings as just another raunchy sex comedy, it quickly grew on me and had me laughing probably more than in any other film this year. Again, it isn't remotely for everyone (and certainly not for kids). Yet, if you don't mind the subject material and enjoy adult humor with heart and plenty of genuine laughs, you might be interested in "going all of the way" with "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." It rates as a 7 out of 10.