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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: First Look Pictures
Salesrank: 15561
Released: February 12, 2008 |
| Our Price: $2.67 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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.
Description of The Amateurs:
Writer-director Michael Traeger presides over an impressive group of actors in The Amateurs, a 2005 film that, due to various distribution problems, took more than two years to reach theaters (in late '07). But it's unlikely that Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson, Joe Pantoliano, William Fichtner, Lauren Graham, Glenne Headley, Tim Blake Nelson, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and the other cast members will be putting it very high on their resumes, as this is a whole that's decidedly less than the sum of its parts. Bridges, who manages to suggest some of the same slacker charm he brought to his iconic role as The Dude in The Big Lebowski, plays Andy Sargentee, a small town loser (the burg in question is called Butterface Falls) who can't hold a job and has passively surrendered his ex-wife (Tripplehorn) and son to a guy rich enough to install a basketball court in the kid's bedroom. When Andy decides that he's finally "had enough of not having enough," he comes up with a cockeyed plan to make a porn film, with his pals serving as producer, director, and crew, and various local gals as the onscreen talent (or so the guys hope). It's an amusing setup, but while the actors appear to be having a good time, the movie just isn't very funny (it's also hampered by an array of appalling stereotypes; Danson's character, who wants to be called Moose because he can't admit that he's gay, is little more than a gallery of fey mannerisms, while the women, with the notable exception of Graham, are largely depicted as desperate, stupid, or both). Traeger tries to salvage the proceedings with a feel-good twist ending, but The Amateurs (which contains no nudity, premise notwithstanding) is pretty much a lost cause by then. --Sam Graham
The Amateurs Reviews:
Not the best movie Bridges has done, but still cute 
2009-11-29 - I'll admit something. If this hadn't come on tv & there hadn't been anything else to watch or do, I probably wouldn't have watched this movie. I do enjoy Jeff Bridges, but some of his stuff is hit & miss. Plus it's hard to watch him now & not compare his every non-villain role to his character of Lebowski. After watching this film, I'm glad I watched it. It's really very cute & will get overlooked by many.
The film follows a group of friends who decide to make a porno. Leading the group is Andy, a guy who has given up on a lot in his life, including his marriage. Along for the ride are a group of guys that include a man who goes by the name of "Some Guy" as well as a young man who records just about everything he sees. They all agree to help for their own personal reasons, some of which are obvious & others which develop slowly throughout the film.
Honestly, this movie was cute. It's not something I'd rush out & buy, but it is something I'd recommend a friend to watch at some point in time. The characters are nice, but at the same time they didn't really reach out to me all that much. As the saying goes, "it's not quite milk, but not yet a shake". The film is better than many indie films I've seen, but it just seems to lack some sort of "oomph" that would've pushed it along & made it stand out more than some of the other films out there.
This film will be a must have for fans of Bridges, but for the rest of us... just rent it for right now. If you then decide that you just have to have it, go ahead & buy it.
A heartwarming movie about Porn 
2009-07-10 - Okay, so this really isn't a movie about porn...
it's a movie about friends,
it's a movie about really big ideas,
it's a movie about Jello with little pieces of fruit in it,
it's a movie about success!!
Jeff Daniels stars as Andy Sargentee, a driven man with no direction, a kind-hearted man who doesn't always know what to do, resulting in the loss of numerous jobs and his marriage.
After long hours of hard thinking, he comes up with a brilliant idea- let's make a porno film and make a million bucks!! He enlists the help of his good buddies and some townfolk, they set out to find actors, write scenes, and get the movie made. Hilarity ensues...
There is a great cast in this movie playing great characters that you can't help but get attached to, despite their quirkiness.
Although it is a movie about people making a porno, it is refreshingly wholesome. And a happy ending to boot!!
I guess the moral of the story is: Sex sells, but having a big heart will bring you real success!!
This is a feel good movie with some awesomely entertaining scenes that I highly recommend!!
Very funny, nicely done, well acted. 
2009-04-23 - I have to say that I agree with VERY little in Sam Graham's "official" review of this movie. I was taken with the fact that the movie had a comforting feeling to it despite the subject matter. I think it works well, the cast is fantastic and the end result is a great movie. It is very funny. All it takes is a look at the bonus materials to find out that Ted Danson actually was TRYING to use "fey mannerisms" with his character. Once again, ignore the "professional" critic and watch the movie yourself. There is a LOT of sexually oriented language (it is about the making of a porn film, after all) but little nudity, a fact that Sam seems to belabor to the point that you have to think he was looking forward to it.
Fun movie
2009-02-26 - The Amateurs is a delightful movie about a group of middle-aged men in a small town making a porno movie. It really reminded me of Nobody's Fool, with Paul Newman. This is not a porn film, and it is not really dirty. It is character-driven, with Jeff Bridges in the driver's seat. All the actor's are engaging (Ted Danson is a hoot, playing against type), and the plot is actually quite sweet. This film grossed $15K (yes, $15K) during its commercial release. It seems to be doing better than that with rentals and direct sales now. If you hate the idea of porn, don't bother with it. But if you like good movies, the porn aspect is just the hook on which the plot is hung. Sorry, no pun intended. My wife loves this movie more than I do, and I like it a lot. The Blu-ray version is very clean and clear. Check it out.
And the underdog wins the race 
2009-02-01 - Jeff Bridges plays another role of the washed out middle aged man with no future. His character is a man with no profession, with series of mediocre sales jobs in a small city and unable to support his family. After his wife leaves him and re-marries to a rich guy, he tries to find a way to impress his young, teenage son.
The story unfolds with the idea of making an amateur porn film in order to make it rich. His bar buddies pitch in minimal investment and the story takes off.
So when the porn movie is no longer a porn movie but still a success to make everyone make some money, this film turns into its own head with a happy ending.
When will be see Jeff Bridges in a film really worth seeing? That is what I want to know.
