40 Days And 40 Nights

A young Catholic in San Francisco (Josh Hartnett), still pining for his ex-girlfriend (Vinessa Shaw), takes a vow of sexual abstinence for the 40 days of Lent, and after his flatmate and coworkers place bets on whether or not he’ll make it, he meets the woman of his dreams (Shannyn Sossamon). Scripted by Robert Perez and stylishly directed by Michael Lehmann, the film doesn’t shy away from cheap gags when it runs out of good ones, and if I were a Catholic I might be offended in spots (after getting himself chained to his bed, the hero compares himself to Jesus). But this is smooth and at times even sensuala well-oiled machine. With Paulo Costanzo and Griffin Dunne. 93 min. (JR) Read more