Dude!

Since I almost always have a DVD playing when I’m hanging out at the apartment, I’ve seen some of the movies on that shelf countless times. Oddly enough, one of the films that holds up viewing after viewing and that I continue to watch quite often is 40 Days and 40 Nights, that 2002 comedy in which Josh Hartnett’s character, Matt, gives up sex for lent. So lately I’ve been wondering—what makes this movie, which seems on paper like it would suck, so appealing?

One of the scenes that I always think about with respect to 40 Days and 40 Nights is the one in which Matt, in the confessional opposite his priest-in-training brother John, comes up with the idea of giving up all this sexual for lent. At one point, while John tries to talk Matt out of the idea, Matt opens up the confessional door and points directly at the large crucifix in the cathedral while he smiles and says, “Dude!” I think that what makes this so great is the contrast between the striking informality of the “Dude!” gesture and the seriousness of the suffering Christ on the crucifix in the dark, severe interior of the cathedral. It’s absurd, and I’m all about absurdity. In addition, “dude,” like “fuck,” is an extraordinarily versatile term. There are several possible meanings when Matt points at Christ and says “Dude!” He could be expressing newfound comradeship with his savior, praising Christ for having figured it all out so long ago, slapping him a spiritual high-five of sorts, or even looking to the crucifix for strength to go through with the vow. All of this potential adds a pleasant depth to the scene. Also, like “cool," "dude" as a slang term seems as though it will persist, unlike terms such as "tubular" and "bodacious." This means that the “Dude!” scene won’t necessarily seem dated in a few years. This whole thing reminds me of the “Buddy Christ” in Dogma because it’s an example of pop culture using some form of the crucifix for comedic purposes. Anyhow, there you have it. Look for spiritual enlightenment in bad Josh Hartnett comedy.