ultimately heartwarming and humorous enough to merit a recommendation
The Amateurs (2007)
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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:4
Rotten:20
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: The Amateurs is a largely unfunny sex comedy that squanders a talented cast.
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... 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]
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pantoliano, William Fichtner
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pantoliano, William Fichtner, Ted Danson, Patrick Fugit, John Hawkes, Brad Henke, Glenne Headly, Tom Bower, Lauren Graham, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Director: Michael Traeger
Director: Michael Traeger
Studio: First Look
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Reviews for The Amateurs
...ultimately finds itself unable to hold the viewer's interest for more than a few minutes at a time.
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.
The only burst of creativity is the number of euphemisms Traeger has for pussy ("fruit cup" was my favorite)
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.
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.
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.
A strong ensemble cast spruces up a weak script in this trifle...the little picture that, ultimately, doesn't.
The Amateurs has been shelved for a number of years because -- just a ballpark guess here -- it's not funny.
Potential laughs are largely lost due to the one-note nature of the characters.
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.
It's just not much fun to watch first time director Michael Traeger aim for Capra-esque comedy and wind up closer to crap.
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.
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.
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.
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