Editing 40 Days and 40 Nights (section)

===Critical response===
{{Anchor|Critics|Reception}} 
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has an approval rating of 40% based on reviews from 135 critics, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The site's consensus states: "As romantic comedies go, ''40 Days and 40 Nights'' is smutty, sexist, and puerile."<ref>{{cite web |title=40 Days and 40 Nights (2002) |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/40_days_and_40_nights |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=March 6, 2025|archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303041751/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/40_days_and_40_nights |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 53%, based on reviews from 33 critics.<ref>{{cite web |title=40 Days and 40 Nights |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/40-days-and-40-nights |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2020-05-04 |archive-date=2020-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724064117/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/40-days-and-40-nights |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS (2002) B |work= [[CinemaScore]] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180206073531/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= February 6, 2018 }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film three out of four stars. He praised director Michael Lehmann for raising the film above the level of sexual sitcom, through his sympathy for his characters and use of humor to examine human nature. He also credited writer Rob Perez for dialogue about sex with "more complexity and nuance than we expect." Not wanting to reveal too much, Ebert explained he was dissatisfied with the ending, writing: "Nicole's entire participation is offensive and unnecessary, and that there was a sweeter and funnier way to resolve everything".<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web
| date=March 1, 2002
| author=Roger Ebert
| author-link=Roger Ebert
| title=40 Days and 40 Nights Review
| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/40-days-and-40-nights-2002
| work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]
| access-date=July 29, 2020
| archive-date=September 7, 2023
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907033427/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/40-days-and-40-nights-2002
| url-status=live
}}</ref>
''Variety''{{'}}s [[Todd McCarthy]] called it: "A self-described abstinence comedy that is funny, sexy and silly in equal measure" but notes "had tried to deepen the film’s potentially serious themes as often as they make light of them, they might have come up with something more than the disposable farce at hand."<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite web 
| date=21 February 2002 
| last=McCarthy 
| first=Todd 
| author-link=Todd McCarthy 
| title=40 Days and 40 Nights 
| url=https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/40-days-and-40-nights-1200551209/ 
| website=Variety 
| access-date=29 July 2020 
| archive-date=7 September 2023 
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907033427/https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/40-days-and-40-nights-1200551209/ 
| url-status=live 
}}</ref>

[[Peter Travers]] called it "a one-joke sex farce," and complained: "Yup, director Michael Lehmann, far from the glory days of ''[[Heathers]]'', has made a movie about a hard-on, in which he relentlessly pounds a flaccid premise."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=26 February 2002 |last=Travers |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Travers |title=40 Days and 40 Nights |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/40-days-and-40-nights-127045/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=30 July 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828141220/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/40-days-and-40-nights-127045/ |url-status=live }}</ref>