DVD release

An unrated version of the film was released on DVD. It features additional and extended scenes which add 17 minutes to the length of the film. Those scenes include:

• A heated argument between Jay (Romany Malco) and Mooj (Gerry Bednob) over a "poached" customer
• A poker scene with alternate dialogue
• A scene where Andy (Carell) imagines sexually provocative photos on magazine covers at a newstand
• A flashback scene featuring a young Andy's struggle to remove a girl's bra
• A longer version of a scene at a bar where Andy picks up a drunk woman
• Andy fast-forwards through sex scenes featured in a pornographic film, then imagines its star talking to him, with clumsy sex talk in a voice that turns into his own
• Andy's boss Paula (Jane Lynch) tells another of her employees that she would have sex with Andy "in a New York minute"
• Mooj complains to floor manager Andy about the shifts he's been assigned, then talks to Andy about the up-and-coming end to his series of 20 sex-free dates with Trish (Catherine Keener)
• Andy and Beth (Elizabeth Banks) have a "Who's on First?"-like exchange featuring the word "butt"

Commentary track

The commentary mentions the following:

• The film originated in a conversation between Apatow and Carell on the set of Anchorman. Apatow asked Carell if he had any ideas for a film of his own and Carell, pitch a couple—the second pitch, which led to the film, came from an idea that dates back to Carell's Second City days.
• The studio was worried that Andy looked like Jeffrey Dahmer, a comment that lead to multiple improvised references to Andy's similarity to a serial killer.
• Adam McKay is credited with the idea of having Andy's buddies talk while they broke fluorescent tubes.
• To be sure they got the coverage they needed of the body waxing scene, four cameras were used simultaneously.
• The production used over a million feet of film, a milestone reached on the last day of filming and recognized with free champagne by the company providing the film stock.Interview with Steve Carell and Paul Rudd - from IGN

The amount of improvised dialogue in the film was so significant that co-writer Apatow half-jokingly questioned the legitimacy of his writer's credit.

Deleted scenes

• “Getting Ready” (:38) - Andy tries to get Cal’s approval over which shirt to wear; Jay and David exchange words.
• “Drunk Driving - Alternate Ending” (1:57) - Instead of Andy ending the date after Nicky’s “accident”, Nicky has Andy take the fall for her. She also doesn’t barf in his face as in the final theatrical version, but on the car floor.
• “’The First Time’ Karaoke” (2:02) - Andy sings a karaoke song when he celebrates with his SmartTech buddies.
• “Rooftop Confessions” (3:18) - The gang talks about their misadventures of their first time doing it.
• “Kid Customers” (:39) - David tries unsuccessfully to sell the robot toy to customers.
• “Andy and Jazzmun” (4:07) - an extended scene where Andy finds out Jazzmun is a transvestite prostitute.

Trivia

• This is Steve Carell's first starring role in a feature film. His previous credits were as supporting characters (interestingly both newsmen) in The Legend of Ron Burgundy as a dimwitted weatherman, and Bruce Almighty as an arrogant rival to Jim Carrey.
• Steve Carell was filmed actually having his chest waxed. He is actually screaming those lines with no preparation (aside from a loose outline of screaming, swearing, and then apologizing). He was also presented with the option of trimming the hair before filming to lessen the pain, but declined in favour of authenticity.
• Additional scenes had to be filmed for the trailer, since so many of the film's actual scenes contain strong language.
• In January 2006, both Carell and director/co-writer Judd Apatow were nominated by the Writer's Guild of America for Best Original Screenplay, alongside Good Night, and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale, Cinderella Man, and Crash.
• This film was originally rated NC-17 but was changed back to R on an appeal.
• The film makes extensive use of Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The electronics store, for example, is located on Ventura in Tarzana; the bike accident sequence was filmed on Ventura Place, just west of Laurel Canyon in Studio City; and Delmonico's Lobster House on Ventura in Encino was also used for one of Andy's dates.
• The Smart Tech store is a play on the retail stores Circuit City and Future Shop, utilizing the similarities in their uniforms, floor layout, and exteriors.
• The video game being played by Andy's friends during the infamous improvised "you know how I know you're gay" riffs is Deception. However, they are using Nintendo 64 controllers, despite the game only being available on the PS2, GameCube & Xbox.
• Besides Steve Carell, a few other stars from The Office can be seen in this film. Mindy Kaling plays David's ex-girlfriend Amy and Jenna Fischer is seen as one of many girls in the first club scene. Also, Phyllis Smith played Andy's mother in a flashback scene that was ultimately cut from the film. Featured actors Nancy Walls and David Koechner have made frequent guest-appearances on the show. It should also be noted that one of the casting directors on this film (Allison Jones) also is casting director for The Office.

References