IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS
The Secret Lives of Dentists

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
See Pictures
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy DVD
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003)

85%
88%
61%
N/A
N/A
N/A
85 %
Reviews Counted: 92 Fresh: 78  Rotten:14 Average Rating: 7.2/10
 
Consensus: A witty and honest look at marriage in decay.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

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

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Theatrical Release: Aug 1, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $3,637,833

Synopsis: Hope Davis and Campbell Scott play married dentists in this insightful dramatic comedy from director Alan Rudolph (AFTERGLOW, DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE). Based on the novel THE AGE OF GRIEF by Jane Smiley, the story begins with husband David's suspicion that his wife (and mother... Hope Davis and Campbell Scott play married dentists in this insightful dramatic comedy from director Alan Rudolph (AFTERGLOW, DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE). Based on the novel THE AGE OF GRIEF by Jane Smiley, the story begins with husband David's suspicion that his wife (and mother of their three adorable daughters) is having an affair. The details of their family life and David's mounting suspicion are brilliantly evoked via overlapping dialogue, great editing, and masterful camerawork. David's jealous mind soars onto some hilarious flights of fancy and eventually caustic comedian Denis Leary turns up as his cigar-smoking alter-ego, expressing all the independent and antisocial traits David has tried so long to repress for the sake of his family. All of this culminates in a hilarious yet harrowing week when the family is hit by a flu virus. SECRET LIVES' performances are very strong, with Scott proving himself an actor of great restraint and subtlety. The young actresses who play the daughters are uniformly talented, as is Robin Tunney (THE CRAFT) as a dental assistant. The lion's share of credit is due to director Rudolph, who is in top form with this film, displaying his mastery of the ensemble cast, camera, and audio tricks; Rudolph and his mentor, Robert Altman, are of the few directors capable of working with such perceptive, funny, and warmly human results. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney, Gianna Beleno

Director: Alan Rudolph
Screenwriter: David Newman, Alan Rudolph
Producer: George Van Buskirk, Campbell Scott
Composer: Gary DiMichele

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 27, 2004

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Gag Reel
  • Audio Commentary - 1. Alan Rudolph - Director
  • Featurette -1. Sundance Channel's Anatomy of a Scene
  • Deleted Scenes

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/14/05
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/13/05
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/03/05
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
2/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
02/02/04
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald
Ratings Image
4/5

Retrata com sensibilidade o cotidiano de uma família em crise e representa mais uma prova dos talentos de Scott e Davis.

comment Comment
01/30/04
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image
4/5

One of those quietly brilliant indies, so small in scope that it takes a little extra attention to appreciate how deeply it plunges into its characters.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/15/04
Kim Linekin
eye WEEKLY
Ratings Image
3/5

The Secret Lives of Dentists is a provocative title, promising much more than this domestic melodrama is able to deliver.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Ratings Image
C

...[T]he potency is abrogated by Rudolph’s indulgent pretension of including Scott’s personified conscience in the form of an obstreperous patient...

Full Review | comment Comment
12/31/03
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
4/5

Rudolph's fondness for angular, oblique characterization is ideally suited to the movie's incidental story of sublimated feelings and contradictory impulses.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/14/03
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/4

Domestic scenes with the kids are drawn with letter-perfect naturalism.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/14/03
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
2.5/5

For me (unlike some critics who have embraced this film), Leary becomes so persistent, so grating and so bloody irritating that I want to scream: Stop the madness! End the pain!

Full Review | comment Comment
11/14/03
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies
Ratings Image
3/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
10/01/03
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle
Ratings Image
3/4

Refuses to chuck us under our chins and tell us everything is OK.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/26/03
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star
Ratings Image
A-

[Campbell Scott gives] a brilliant performance, with hints of humor, rage and agony all lurking around the edges.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/14/03
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
Ratings Image
3/4

There are movies that have a way of hitting you at a certain time in your life, and this study of being married with young children speaks in satisfying ways.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/11/03
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
09/11/03
Orlando Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums

REEL_REVIEWER
THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS - Title is more intriguing than the film itself ???
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/6/05


REEL_REVIEWER
THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS - Title is more intriguing than the film itself ???
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/6/05


REEL_REVIEWER
THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS - Title is more intriguing than the film itself ???
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/6/05


REEL_REVIEWER
THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS - Title is more intriguing than the film itself ???
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/6/05


Once I got passed the expectations the title held for me...
by: schleprock 1/30/04
all

Pictures

Around the Network

• The Secret Lives of Dentists at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Secret Lives of Dentists at AskMen
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.