Trivia / This Is 40

• Actor-Inspired Element: The scene in which Debbie has a discussion with Pete whilst topless and he doesn't even notice as he's preoccupied was Leslie Mann's idea.
• Actor-Shared Background: Wyatt Russell appears in one scene as an ice hockey player that Debbie talks to at a bar. Russell himself was a professional ice hockey player before getting into acting.
• Creator Killer: In the second half of the 2000s, Judd Apatow was widely considered the top comedy producer in Hollywood, and credited from moving the genre from the crude, Denser and Wackier style favored in the 1990s and early 2000s to a smarter and more culturally-aware style that remains commonplace to this day. However, his career's never been quite the same since this movie — he's still a prolific writer and producer by any means, but now focusing mostly on TV, with his work in that field no longer considered as culturally-defining as his movie career was.
• The Danza: Jason Segel reprises his role as Jason from Knocked Up.
• Deleted Scene: Judd Apatow shot a scene where it's explained the absence of Ben and Alison from Knocked Up is because the couple are now living in Atlanta because Allison took a job at CNN.
• Enforced Method Acting: Judd Apatow admitted in an interview that it didn't take much effort to get his daughters to fight convincingly in the film, as he would simply give them a prompt that would result in them having a real argument as the cameras rolled.
• Real-Life Relative: Carrying over from their appearances in Knocked Up, the two girls playing Pete's and Debbie's children are the real-life daughters of Leslie Mann and director Judd Apatow.
• Throw It In!: In one of the bedroom scenes, Paul Rudd's farts were unscripted. The crew were not amused by this but Leslie Mann stayed in the moment and improvised her outraged reaction.
• Uncredited Role: Bill Hader as the customer.
• Wag the Director: Paul Rudd nixed the idea of using a shot of him trying to inspect his own anus as the film's poster.
• You Look Familiar: Bill Hader from Knocked Up makes a bit cameo appearance as a different character.

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