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The Amateurs

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The Amateurs (2007)

17%
N/A
76%
N/A
N/A
N/A
17 %
Reviews Counted: 23 Fresh: 4  Rotten:19 Average Rating: 3.9/10
 
Consensus: The Amateurs is a largely unfunny sex comedy that squanders a talented cast.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Theatrical Release: 2006

Synopsis: Sex sells in America and these guys know it. When Andy (Jeff Bridges) discovers that his ex-wife has married an extremely wealthy man who is now his son’s “cool” stepfather, he becomes motivated to make a change in his life. With the help of his friends (Ted Danson, Joe Pantoliano) a small town... Sex sells in America and these guys know it. When Andy (Jeff Bridges) discovers that his ex-wife has married an extremely wealthy man who is now his son’s “cool” stepfather, he becomes motivated to make a change in his life. With the help of his friends (Ted Danson, Joe Pantoliano) a small town group of loveable losers, they hit upon an idea to make their dreams come true. The grand plan that will lead to a life of riches and fame is to make the world’s most innocent adult film. Everyman’s fantasy turns into a hilarious misadventure when they find that they’re way in over their heads. --© First Look Pictures [More]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pantoliano, William Fichtner, Ted Danson

Director: Michael Traeger

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 12, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case

Audio:

  • (unspecified) - English

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image
3.5/5

ultimately heartwarming and humorous enough to merit a recommendation

Full Review | comment Comment
07/23/08
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image
2/4

...ultimately finds itself unable to hold the viewer's interest for more than a few minutes at a time.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/20/08
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/19/08
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
C-

Amateurs had all the potential in the world to be a charming, oddball delight, but it's a mess. A horrible mess. Albeit a horrible mess with some big laughs and the evergreen presence of Jeff Bridges.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/30/08
Brian Orndorf
DVDTalk.com
Ratings Image
N/A

All this star power goes for naught in Traeger's film, which tries to blend bucolic sweetness with juvenile let's-make-a-porno jokes.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/18/08
Marc Mohan
Oregonian
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1/4

It ranges from awkward to excruciating.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/14/07
Mark Rahner
Seattle Times
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3/4

The chief virtue of Amateurs is that it gives many talented people (Valerie Perrine, Judy Greer, Lauren Graham, Tim Blake Nelson) a scene or two in which to shine.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/14/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Ratings Image
1.5/4

This sort of thing was done much better by the British years ago in The Full Monty and Calendar Girls. There's really no call for an American rehash.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/13/07
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
D

A sleazy, uninspired, pathetically unfunny sex farce.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/13/07
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ratings Image
C

A strong ensemble cast spruces up a weak script in this trifle...the little picture that, ultimately, doesn't.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/11/07
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
Ratings Image
N/A

Do not waste your time with The Amateurs.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/10/07
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
1/4

The Amateurs has been shelved for a number of years because -- just a ballpark guess here -- it's not funny.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/07/07
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News
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N/A

Potential laughs are largely lost due to the one-note nature of the characters.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/07/07
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine
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1/5

There are no laughs to be found in writer-director Michael Traeger's would-be comedy The Amateurs, but there is one big mystery: how actors of this caliber could have been convinced to take part.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/07/07
Dennis Lim
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

It's just not much fun to watch first time director Michael Traeger aim for Capra-esque comedy and wind up closer to crap.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/07
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com
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N/A

As a writer, Traeger is consternatingly adolescent and glib.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/07
Hazel-Dawn Dumpert
L.A. Weekly
Ratings Image
3.5/4

The Amateurs turns out to be a mini-classic of sweet vulgarity, much in the vicinity if not the exact class of the recent spate of the Judd Apatow canon.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/05/07
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
3/4

You'll notice that the actors are way overqualified for this nonsense. But the kick they get out of one another is what pulls you in.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/07/06
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

If there’s something hypocritically coy about a sex comedy without sex (let alone a porn industry without victims), there’s also something refreshing about the characters’ unabashed good nature -- at least until the grievously saccharine finale.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/06/06
Ben Walters
Time Out
Ratings Image
2/5

An amiable enough micro-caper which offers savoury titters over out-and-out laughs without ever living up to the concept’s comedic potential.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/06/06
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
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