Photo courtesy of Miramax Paulo Costanzo contemplates life as a movie star. He costars in the comedy "40 Days and 40 Nights" in theaters today.

Anyone who sees "40 Days And 40 Nights" without a date will feel as though he or she missed a golden opportunity for heartfelt conversation.

This movie should have opened for Valentine's Day. In its trailers, it might have come off looking more like a comedy than a romantic comedy, but don't be fooled - this film was made for the dating populace.

The premise is pretty original, but one might wonder how an entire movie could revolve around the joke alone. Josh Hartnett's character, Matt, is a Bill Clinton-type constant player with Wilt Chamberlain-like skills after coming out of a bad breakup with his ex-girlfriend. Bluntly, the guy scores more than Scott Baio on Viagra at the Playboy Mansion.

But after all the Trojans are gone, Matt feels an emptiness from his one-night exploits and, in a bid to find out which head holds the most marbles, Matt decides to follow his Catholic faith for Lent and abstain from the thing he loves most: sex - any form of sex including masturbation and sexual touching - for 40 days.

Women may say this is an easy task for them, but to men it is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest in their boxers.

Things start out pretty smoothly for Matt in the beginning of his quest, but, as time progresses, temptation begins to pop up everywhere. Making it even more difficult for Matt is the fact that his co-workers and his antagonizing roommate (Paulo Costanzo) set up a day-by-day Internet betting system centered on Matt's vow. As each day passes and the stakes rise, betters try and tempt Matt to crumble so they can collect the pot.

These circumstances, plus the fact that Matt meets a new potential girlfriend (Shannyn Sossamon), only aggravate our hero's situation. Can he go the distance? After 20 days or so, Matt begins looking more haggard than bin Laden in the last tape he released.

The real handle of this movie, however, lies in Matt's problems dealing with his feelings for his ex-girlfriend and the new one he starts seeing. At times, it seems to overshadow the comedic premise of the movie, but in the end there's still enough time to balance the romantic with the comedic. This movie is not a frantic what-sort-of-funny-things-are-going-to-happen-to-this-celibate-guy type movie.

Instead, it juggles the gushy lovey-dovey stuff for the ladies with the constant battleground scenario for the guys. For example, Matt and his new girlfriend find a way to touch each other intimately without really "touching" each other in a scene that might send couples running to the florist after the movie. In another scene, while on the way to work, Matt envisions every woman he sees naked coupled with orgasmic audio, then later that night dreams he is flying over an ocean of bare breasts. There is something for everyone.

The joke does run out here and there, but the film is paced so that it never stays in the same place for too long. This film promises to spark just as many debates as that "Would you let your wife sleep with another guy for $1 million?" question from "Indecent Proposal" a few years back.