40 Days and 40 Nights

With a cast this attractive and this darn likable, you sort of wish "40 Days and 40 Nights" wasn't quite as dirty-minded and sex-obsessed as it is.

And the audience may also wish this comedy was funnier than it is. Though there are several clever bits that are smile-worthy, there's little here that qualifies as genuinely laugh-out-loud funny.

Still, the film does have some real sweetness and warmth, which at least puts it a cut above the numerous "American Pie"-wannabes that have followed in that blockbuster's wake. (Besides, "40 Days" could have been much, much worse; at least it doesn't feature ultra-bland pretty boy Freddie Prinze Jr. as its star.)

"40 Days" stars Josh Hartnett as Matt Sullivan, a lovelorn Bay area Web site designer. Matt broke up with his longtime love, Nicole (Vinessa Shaw), months ago, but he's having a hard time getting over her. His friends try to help, but a more radical solution to the problem occurs to Matt — he will abstain from any sexual contact for 40 days (performing the Catholic rite of Lent, during which many adherents deny themselves material and physical pleasures).

But as fate would have it, as he begins his experiment, Matt finally meets the woman who may be his perfect match, Erica (model-turned-actress Shannyn Sossamon from "A Knight's Tale"). She's a "Web-nanny" who's had a series of disastrous relationships with men and is intrigued by the seemingly skittish Matt.

The supporting characters here start betting on Matt's ability to go sex-free, but the audience will be able to see where this is going immediately. And it doesn't help that director Michael Lehmann and screenwriter Rob Perez desperately try to mine laughs in the cheapest manner possible.

What does make the film bearable when it's not being smutty are Hartnett and Sossamon, who seem to have real chemistry. The supporting cast is pretty decent as well, especially "Road Trip's" Paulo Costanzo, who plays Matt's rather insensitive roommate, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as Erica's confidante. (Unfortunately, character-actor Griffin Dunne is reduced to being the punch line for several smarmy sex gags.)

"40 Days and 40 Nights" is rated R for crude sexual humor, including sight gags and verbal references, simulated sex and sex acts (mostly done for laughs), copious female and brief partial male nudity, occasional use of strong sex-related profanity, brief drug content (abuse of sex aids) and brief violence (a slapstick tussle). Running time: 93 minutes.

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com