A smart, sensitive look at modern domestic life.
The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003)
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Reviews Counted:93
Fresh:79
Rotten:14
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: A witty and honest look at marriage in decay.
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... 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]
Starring: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney
Starring: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney, Gianna Beleno, Cassidy Hinkle, Lydia Jordan
Director: Alan Rudolph
Director: Alan Rudolph
Screenwriter: David Newman, Alan Rudolph
Producer: George Van Buskirk, Campbell Scott
Composer: Gary DiMichele
Studio: Manhattan Pictures International
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Reviews for The Secret Lives of Dentists
The Secret Lives of Dentists may be a hard movie to like and a harder movie to love, but it knows itself so well that it's an impossible one to dismiss.
As misshapen as the movie sometimes seems, it ultimately evokes true, uncompromised emotions.
Scott and Davis could not be better. You're in for something special.
The Secret Lives of Dentists is a snappy, well-acted, and inventive comedy that hits the mark with its deft and telling portrait of a marriage under siege.
While it's Dave's madly humming brain that propels the film, Davis, whose every glance is a short story in itself, makes Dana's internal crisis equally resonant.
Seems vaguely interested in American domestic ennui, but ends up feeling -- wait for it (yawn) -- like pulling teeth.
Don't let unpleasant personal dental associations stand in the way of seeing a luminous specimen of independent filmmaking.
Unlike the majority of movies in which a thousand digital extras are sacrificed upon the altar of commercial catharsis, The Secret Lives of Dentists gives the impression of acknowledging the existence of garden-variety human suffering.
Rarely does a film cause those visceral adrenaline rushes of recognizing greatness, but "The Secret Lives of Dentists" brings waves of them.
more of an intellectual exercise than a melodrama, but one with its own chilly pleasures.
A cross between 'Eyes Wide Shut' and 'A Beautiful Mind' -- but more compelling than either.
In The Secret Lives of Dentists, Alan Rudolph treats everyday suburban anxieties with great empathy.
Scott is excellent as he makes a complete U-turn from the motormouthed misogynist he played with such gusto in last year's Roger Dodger to inhabit the soul of decent, sensitive Dave.
It's funny, dark, different, hard to describe in a way that really does it justice - it's about life's real emotions and behaviors, along with a little fantasy, a touch of opera, and a couple of fillings.
Scott and Davis turn in subdued but strong performances, and Leary gets plenty of laughs. Dramatic elements are handled austerely, lending the few emotional moments added weight
An exploration of family and fidelity hiding under a bizarre, surrealistic, sometimes impenetrable facade.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
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