The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002)

An introspective dentist's suspicions about his wife's infidelity stresses his mental well being and family life to the breaking point.

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writers:

Jane Smiley (novel), Craig Lucas (screenplay)

Stars:

Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Campbell Scott	...	David Hurst
Denis Leary	...	Slater
Robin Tunney	...	Laura
Peter Samuel	...	Larry
Hope Davis	...	Dana Hurst
Jon Patrick Walker	...	Mark
Gianna Beleno	...	Lizzie Hurst
Lydia Jordan	...	Stephanie Hurst
Cassidy Hinkle	...	Leah Hurst
Adele D'Man	...	Carol
Kathleen Kinhan	...	Virgin
Sara Lerch	...	Virgin
Lori Mirabal	...	Virgin
Mark Ethan	...	Conductor
Flora Martínez	...	Female Patient (as Flora Martinez)

Storyline

The movie centers on a dentist who has a strange dream that blurs the boundaries between fantasy and reality.

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Plot Keywords:

dentist | dental | opera | alter ego | infidelity | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 August 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

La vida secreta de un dentista

Filming Locations:

Westchester County, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$121,769, 3 August 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,707,201, 28 December 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Holedigger Films,Ready Made Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the end of the opera performance, the tympanist's arm is seen raised with a flourish. However, in the music he is heard still playing a roll, which definitely takes two hands.

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Quotes

Slater: These children are monsters, they should be struck... can I hit them?
David Hurst: No.

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Connections

References Fight Club (1999)

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Soundtracks

Are We
Written & Performed by Craig Wedren

User Reviews

Engrossing Look at a Suburban Marriage in Crisis

"The Secret Lives of Dentists" is a wonderful evocation of fatherhood and the power of paternal feelings, even while it's showing a marriage in crisis.

Campbell Scott is the antithesis of his ego-centric child-man in "Roger Dodger" to present a loving, if repressed, father and husband who is shook to the very core of his being by suspicions of his wife's infidelity.

Playwright Craig Lucas adapts Jane Smiley's novella (I read "Age of Grief" but only remember it as a brittle slice of realism about marriage and family) by using a similar technique as in "A Beautiful Mind" in having conversations with hyper Denis Leary to let us inside the panic in the husband's mind. Especially well shown, with beautiful editing, cinematography, and music, are his stream-of-consciousness memories of his meeting, courting, and living with his wife.

Hope Davis doesn't get to do much more than Meryl Streep did in "Kramer vs. Kramer," but she adds significantly to her actual lines with luminous acting, especially when we see how happy she is when she's away from her ball-and-chain, though we get very little other explanation for her behavior or choices.

This movie has absolutely the most vivid depiction of what it's like to be stuck at home with sick kids; the very young child actors are the most natural and delightful I've ever seen in the movies. The spreading fever becomes a wonderful metaphor for the state of the marriage and a way to release Dad's fantasy life even more, as well as a realistic family crisis.

Friends of my parents served as dental consultants; their names are spelled wrong, but those aren't the only misspellings in the credits.