At 40, Andy has reconciled himself and spent half a lifetime in other pursuits: collecting action figures and mastering video games in his tidy apartment. He doesn’t drive, wears a nerd designation in the neighborhood, underestimates his own ability, and is generally a nice guy. This nice-guy-nerd persona is played to perfection by Carell, who infuses Andy with a hapless authenticity that is key to making his character one we care for rather than making him into a clown. Boyish and believable, Carell seamlessly captures the essence of a 40- year-old virgin, who is neither psychopath nor outcast.

Following the not-so-expert advice of his coworkers, Andy gets into one unfortunate situation after another until he meets Trish (Catherine Keener). The owner of an EBay store in the adjacent strip mall, Trish not only brings out the hidden natural salesman in Andy, but raises new hopes for romance in the bargain.

Carell’s subtle, resilient performance shoulders the movie, aided by the very capable ensemble cast. The comic dialog, situations touched with human frailty, and sight gags blend to make a most entertaining two hours. Keener is a natural actress and more than once has elevated a weak film because of her ability. With the witty and authentic dialog to work with here, she doesn’t have this obstacle to overcome, and as Andy’s love interest, she becomes the girl most likely to succeed.

Andy has more than a touch of obsessive compulsiveness about his apartment and possessions that comes from being a lonely bachelor. In contrast, Trish is an outgoing single mom and though her hands are full with her business and three kids, she’d like some romance in her life.

Way better than 50 percent of the gags work, making a better batting average than most comedies. Blended with a screenplay that mines genuine emotion from a real, if unlikely, situation, makes for good, clean, naughty fun. Subtexts poke gentle gibes at cross cultural and gay idiosyncrasies, real or imagined, without mean spiritedness.  Beyond the running gags is the more enduring suggestion that in our sex-obsessed culture a body can be equally balanced, or unbalanced, with or without, an active sex life. But with is better.

Director Judd Apatow has done more writing and producing than directing, but with this fun and funny film has hit his stride. Co–written with Carell, there is not much that needs improvement. The soundtrack is memorable for a joyous finish and even though many younger viewers may not entirely get the 60s reference to sexual awakening in the final sequence, its infectious good vibes are unmistakable. Adding a little punch to my enjoyment of the film was an occasional glance at the four male critics sitting in front of me at the screening. Roughly cohorts of Andy and his friends, they were finding it hilariously funny.