Romantic Comedy Opening Sequence - 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is again produced by a major Hollywood production company, Universal. The opening credits are in a serif font, which is a common convention for titles in romantic comedies.

The opening sequence starts with an establishing shot of an aesthetically pleasing neighbourhood, before we meet the main protagonist, Andy, as he lays in bed awake.

We are presented with Andy's bedroom as he lays in bed. His bedroom is very childlike, full of action figures and science posters, and the mise-en-scene is used to immediately deliver information to the audience about the character; from the props and the setting we immediately glean that Andy is a "man-child", and we expect that this may be the narrative obstacle that initially prevents him from finding love. His figure behaviour reinforces this character trait as he is laying in a cradled position holding his pillow, which is again, very fetus-like.

There is a cut to Andy walking to the bathroom, and as he is walking, we can see his house filled with action figures in glass cabinets, again highlighting his geekiness and innocence.

As he walks into his bathroom, with an erection (a comic moment), we can see even more action figures in the bathroom, which definitely suggests he lives alone.

We see that he takes care of himself as he cleans his ears and has his hair slicked back. This again, introduces more of his character traits, which is a common convention of opening sequences of films, including romantic comedies. He is also very particular with his apartment's kitchen and eats healthily, with an omelette and fruit placed neatly on a china plate. This figure behaviour suggests that he is very ordered and precise, which may also explain why he has reached 40 and failed to find love.

We then see him leaving his apartment on a bike, which again, adds to his child-like personality (by not driving a car). Andy then has a conversation with his elderly neighbours and asks if they're still up for watching 'Survivor'. This shows the fact that he is friends with elderly people and not people of his own age, which connotes a social awkwardness (another potential reason why he is alone, and another potential narrative obstacle to him finding a compatible partner). The old couple then say behind his back "that guy needs to get laid", which adds a comedic element to the scene.

Andy arrives at work and is met by a young woman who asks him to help her out with the different video tapes. He struggles to get the words out, implying that he finds it difficult to talk to women. The opening scene is very effective at introducing the film's main protagonist, introducing his character traits and setting up some of the obstacles that he will have to overcome if he is to find love.