The Amateurs (2005)

Citizens of a small town, under the influence of a man in the midst of a mid-life crisis, come together to make an adult film.

Director:

Michael Traeger

Writer:

Michael Traeger

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson, Joe Pantoliano

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Andy Sargentee
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Barney Macklehatton
Joe Pantoliano	...	Some Idiot
Ted Danson	...	Moose
William Fichtner	...	Otis
Patrick Fugit	...	Emmett
John Hawkes	...	Moe
Brad William Henke	...	Ron (as Brad Henke)
Dawn Didawick	...	Clara
Glenne Headly	...	Helen Tatelbaum
Tom Bower	...	Floyd
Jayne Taini	...	Mrs. Morrelli
Lauren Graham	...	Peggy
Jeanne Tripplehorn	...	Thelma
Alex D. Linz	...	Billy

Storyline

Andy Sargentee is a decent guy and the town's favorite failure: an unemployable dreamer whose ex's husband's wealth intimidates Andy to such an extent he does little with his teen son. Andy's new idea is for Butterface Fields to be the first town to band together to make the first full-length feature amateur adult film. He recruits five regulars at Floyd's Bar to contribute $2000 each. They get the kid at the video store, whose camcorder is constantly on, to be the cinematographer. The pal they all call "Some Idiot" volunteers to be writer-director. Otis becomes producer. Now, can they find actors, and especially, women? Can a pornography project give Andy self-respect?

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Plot Keywords:

small town | loser | adult filmmaking | pornographic film | reference to penis | 

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Taglines:

Rise to the Occasion

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the characters (Andy, Barney, Helen, Otis, Floyd, Emmett, Thelma, Clara and "Aunt V") are named after characters from The Andy Griffith Show (1960), most likely as a small town homage of Butterface Fields to Mayberry.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Some Idiot: These are your penises? Andy, I can't work with this!

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Crazy Credits

During the beginning of the real end credits you can see a piece of film of our gang fishing. At the end of the names, the film starts to burn. The rest of the credits follow on a black screen.

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Alternate Versions

The first 15 minutes of the American release (up until the opening titles sequence) have been completely re-edited and re-worked from the original UK and Australian release.

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Connections

References It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

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Soundtracks

Obsession Blues
Written by Michael McDonald, Bernie Chiaravalle
Performed by Michael McDonald
Courtesy of Ramp Records

User Reviews

Good but not great. It's time Bridges stretch himself

He's been playing the same character for a while now. Admittedly, he does a better and low-key job in this than The Big Leibowski, but he seems to be coasting the last few years. A bunch of very good actors playing in a small movie makes this an above average movie, but not by much.

It's another bunch of middle-aged losers trying for their moment of glory. This time, it's a group of bar flies (which the name of their softball team recognizes) who get together and try to produce their own amateur porn movie. All the typical comedy situations you'd expect occur. Much of the humor is provided by Bridges' characters voice over, especially some admitting to obvious foreshadowing.

As mentioned, it's very predictable, with no real surprises but is saved by most of the supporting actors playing it very naturally. The only ones who go overboard are Bridges and Danson but not by much. Overall it's a nice movie to rent for some laughs

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Amateurs

Filming Locations:

Arcadia, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,149, 9 December 2007

Gross USA:

$16,334

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$102,864

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Look International, Qwerty Films, N1 European Film Produktions GmbH & Co. KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1