If You Don't Use It, You Lose It? - The 40 Year Old Virgin Smart Tech Store

January of this year my girlfriend and I had planned a romantic weekend in Ventura, California.  For those of you who don't know, Ventura is located up the California coast north of Los Angeles.  It just so happened that a few nights before this trip I was watching one of the all-timers The 40 Year Old Virgin.  Now this movie has it's place in the history books and I would label it Steve Carell's breakout role.  I was never a fan of NBC's The Office until I subscribed to Netflix last summer.  I started watching the series and was immediately hooked.  I'm talking 3 to 4 episodes a day hooked.  But I will save that obsession for another post as I have some wonderful pictures of Dunder Mifflin for you Office die hards out there.

Anyways, The 40 Year Old Virgin is a hilarious comedy that came out in 2005 starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd.  I won't go into details explaining the plot because I want you to go out and see it for yourself.  As I started mentioning before, I was watching this film and began wondering as I often do "where the hell did they film this movie."  Now typically my inclination is Southern California, Chicago or New York City.  You can usually tell by the architecture and landscape where the film was shot, but Hollywood can play some funny tricks on the viewer.  I did a little research on this filming spot and discovered it on SeeingStars.com and IMDB.

So I left a little early for my weekend getaway and made a stop before Ventura.  What fascinates me about living in Southern California is that you can be watching one of your favorite movies one day and be standing in the exact location it was filmed the next.  This was the precise case with 40 Year Old Virgin.  Just off the 101 freeway is the city of Encino.  This is the location for the movie's fictional business Smart Tech which closely resembled a then electronic superpower Circuit City.  Circuit City has since gone on to close down most if not all of their physical storefronts and transition to online sales.

In "real life" Smart Tech is FlashLaser Aesthetics which is a skin treatment business.  There is also a neighboring Bed Bath and Beyond among several other businesses.  I walked around the area checking it all out and wondered as I do about all of these locations, "what made them choose this spot?"

I'll leave you to think about that question.  What makes the directors and producers choose specific houses, businesses and locations for movies?  If you have a logical answer feel free to leave it in the comments section below.

Smart Tech is located at:
17401 Ventura Blvd
Encino, CA