The Amateurs

When the national economy experiences a downward turn movies are always there to lift our spirits and make fun of the causes and solutions. There is also a genre of movies that examines the male mid-life crisis. Occasionally the two types of films merge. ‘The Amateurs’ also known as ‘The Moguls’ written and directed by Michael Traeger is one of the latest in this trend. As is the case with many films especial of this type the premise is simple. A small town is experiencing a major loss of income potential. At the behest of a man who now in a mid-life crisis they look around to see what possible endeavors they could undertake would reverse this trend. They solution they come up with is to producer their own adult video. On the surface it is not such a bad idea. The adult entertainment industry is a multi-billion dollar a year business. No pun intended but it is one of the most solid growth industries out there today. With DVDs, internet and cable television it is easier than ever to get films of this sort. Back in the day guys in my high school would get on the subway and travel an hour to a place they weren’t known just to buy a copy of Playboy. The magazine was then diligently hidden from the parents under a mattress (mom will never look there) or behind a desk or bookcase. With the advent of technology like the VCR pornography became easier than ever to obtain and watch. There was also a change in how society dealt with adult films. In 1972 the hard core flicks ‘Deep Throat’ and ‘Behind the Green Door’ were among the first adult movies to be socially acceptable and widely released. It was the start of porno chic and the so called enlighten young adults openly went to see this film. Now with such forms of entertain at least tolerated by society it is not a stretch of the imagination to have a film about a town that seeks this type of film as a fast and easy source of town revenue.

This is one of those films that seem to gain more popularity with audiences than critics. One reason is the film is technically flawed but there are laughs to be had here. One warning sign here is the film is listed under two names. This typically happens when a movie fails at the box office and the producers want a fresh start with the DVD or cable release. At best the script is wafer thin. It is okay for a premise to be simple but the film should be able to expound on that and grow the characters and situations. This is no nuance here, the jokes are raunchy and over the top. What separates a film that would work as a social satire from the teen sex romp flicks is not letting the humor spiral down to the obvious. While critics usually have distain for this type of humor the fact is audience respond to it. Ultimately the critic should review a movie from as close to the viewpoint of the target audience as possible. That attitude is necessary for a flick such as this. While the script and overall direction could be better the amazing cast assembled here goes a long way to making the film work.

Andy Sargentee (Jeff Bridges) is an average kind of middle aged man who lives in the small town of Butterface Fields, population of only 3,149. as he puts it the white picket fences are in need of repair but it is a nice place to live and raise a family. The local gathering place is Floyds’ which severs as tavern, coffee shop and general town hall. One night Andy’s friends see him despondent in the corner of the bar. Two of them, Moe (John Hawkes) and Ron (Brad Henke) go over to him because friends don’t let friends think and Andy was busy thinking. Andy is at that point in a man’s life where he looks back at his time on earth and wants more. This feeling isn’t helped by the fact that his ex wife Thelma (Jeanne Tripplehorn) has remarried an extremely rich man, Howard (Steven Weber), who can provide for her and his son Billy (Alex Linz)better than he ever could. Andy is a conniver, always looking for the cheap, easy way out. When he wants to buy a basketball for his son her can’t afford a top of the line one so he signs Michael Jordan’s name to a cheap one. When he goes to visit Billy has a half basketball court in the house complete with a rack of genuine Jordan basketballs.

The town is populated with the usual movie collection of odd balls. There is Barney Macklehatton (Tim Blake Nelson) who is usually trying to pick up the town barfly in a short skirt Helen Tatelbaum (Glenne Headly) without success. Barney’s father Floyd (Tom Bower) owner of the bar is always in an argument with his son. Then there Moose (Ted Danson) a goofy and also gay; although he tries to hide it everyone in town knows. Next there is Some Idiot (Joe Pantoliano) who is a perpetual student at the nearby night school studying a different subject every time. There is also Wally (Brad Garrett) another friend of Andy who works in the sporting goods store. Finally Andy comes up with the idea to band the town together and make an amateur porn flick. Reluctantly they go along with the crazy notion and invest two thousand dollars each. His loser friends all start picking what they want to do for the production. The camera man will be Emmett (Patrick Fugit) who has been taking film classes all summer long. Since Otis (William Fichtner) doesn’t know how to do anything but want a job just standing around they make him the executive producer. Some Idiot wants to be the writer and director. The rest of the film details getting the production on track. There are locations to decide on, obtaining a bed and finding the right actors.

This is a one trick pony that could have benefited from expanding the scope. There are some interesting character arcs that could have used more attention. One is between Helen and Barney. He hates the way she allows herself to be used by all the wrong men. She is too blind to see true love right in front of her face. The film could also have spent more time on the relationship between Andy and his son and ex wife. The film is paced well enough, not too fast or too slow. It moves naturally into the plot once the nature of Andy is established. Of course the flick was intended to be silly but it would have worked very well with a touch of social commentary.

This is a dream cast that is under utilized here. No actor around today does the likeable slacker better than Jeff Bridges. He fits into a role like this with ease and style. Watching him in this part you can understand how Andy could make a small town into pornographers. He can talk anyone into anything with his disarming smile. Playing completely against type is Joe Pantoliano. He was incredible in his role on the Sopranos as a born killer. Here he is Some Idiot to a tee. It takes a brilliant actor to portray a fool so well. Pantoliano takes the village idiot and makes him more of the classic Shakespearean clown, the most honest man around. There is a touch of pathos here delivered by Glenne Headly’s presentation of Helen. She paints a human character; a woman with her best years behind afraid of spending her life alone.

This film comes to DVD care of First Look Home Entertainment. Even with a film that has its flaws like this one First Look provides little independent films that are interesting and most likely unheard of by most in the audience. This distributor provides an at home art house for the Indy lovers out there. This film misses many times but it was fun to watch. Forget the technical aspects of the movie, have some friends over for beer and pizza and enjoy.

Posted 01/16/08