The Amateurs

This movie is disappointing. Not really funny, totally predictable and even boring at times. It is a comedy supposedly, but I never caught myself laughing or even chuckling. Even worse, I was bored to the point that I left the movie running while I went get myself another drink. Sorry, but that is a death penalty for any movie! (by the way, I like slow movies, and I don't usually lose patience easily.) What really got on my nerves however, was the pretentiousness of the film. Ostensibly playing with the well-worn plot twists in other movies ("I'll tell you right now that xyz is going to happen, because I won't pretend you don't see it coming"), it does the same thing, seemingly without noticing. Who could miss the little guy filming everything ALL the time? Who could miss the symbolic nature of the unmade bed RIGHT from the start? By the time it became clear those laboriously stressed points were actually turning out as plot twist, I lost interest completely and had to force myself to watch the end, which proved to be as lame and predictable as expected. On the plus side, the acting was not so bad, considering the lame, clichéd and uninteresting characters the actors had to portrait. Some scenes were borderline funny (such as the opening scene in the basketball store). 1 for acting 1 for premise 1 for the occasional highlight Rating: 3 out of 10

Forget the titular Amateurs of the title - let's talk about the amateurs here at the IMDb. My Lord, how bad does a film have to be before people can smell it? How can the film business have sunk so low that people here found this awful, horrible movie funny and charming? This is one of the worst movies ever made, despite its game cast. Have the people who "loved" this comedy ever seen a funny film? Because if you think this is funny, well, whatever must you think of Mr. Chaplin, Mr. Keaton, Mr. Brooks (Mel and Albert), Mr. Allen, Mr. Sturges, Mr. Wilder? Oh, yes, probably never heard of those guys. I know there is no accounting for taste, but one does read these "reviews" thinking that the filmmakers simply sent everyone they knew to post nice things. Because no sane person could think this movie good, or even half-good, or even any good. It is reprehensibly bad in every way.

I just got back form a sneak preview of the film at SUNY Farmingdale. William Fichtner happened to be an alumni and so he managed to get a showing at my school. This film was overall very well written and funny. it has many classic lines an memorable parts. Not only was the film written really well but the cast did an amazing job. The version i saw was called the moguls but since the studio thought that i would get confused with a skiing movie they changed the title. Also the version i saw i was told is going to be slightly different form what is going to be opening in NY and LA. The movie was hilarious and i recommend going to see it. its going to be opening in only 6 screens in July but hopefully with good support will get picked up by more theaters.

I just got back tonight from an early screening of a new movie with Jeff Bridges called The Amateurs at Penn State. The movie was originally meant to be screened last month, with an appearance by co-star Joe Pantoliano. Joey Pants did come (his daughter is a student here), but technical difficulties plagued the screening twenty minutes in. Joe was very apologetic and stayed to answer questions for a while and in the meantime they set up another screening for tonight. No Joe tonight (he's apparently filming a new pilot for CBS about waterfront crime), but the movie did work so I can tell you what it's all about. Jeff Bridges stars as a recent divorcée who is down on his luck in a small town. Looking for a way to make it big and have the means to spoil his son, he decides to make a * movie. He does this with the help of his supportive friends, including Pantoliano, Ted Danson, William Fichtner, Tim Blake Nelson and Patrick Fugit. Their film will be distinctive because it will be made by and feature talent from their own small town. Now I know this entire plot sounds kind of corny but it is well executed – everyone laughed pretty hard throughout. Besides having a great cast, what makes this movie different is that it is a sex comedy for and by adults. This may be a tough sell, but I can say that at least half of tonight's audience was definitely professors and community members, rather than students. Though there is little nudity or hard language, this is an R-movie because of its frank discussion of sex. It's funny because these guys are trying to be respectful by replacing words for genitalia with other appropriate, but ridiculous terms. As I mentioned, the cast was great and everyone was prefect for their role. Pantoliano plays the appropriately named writer-director of the production, Some Idiot. Danson plays a gay friend who tries too hard at hiding his sexual orientation, making for some very funny and awkward moments. Fichtner does a really good job with making a fairly plain character entertaining and fun to watch. Bridges plays a loser in the vein of "The Dude", except he's got it together a little more and is a little cleaner cut. About half of Bridges performance is voice-over as well, which was done fairly well. My biggest complaint would be that their female characters receive very little screen time and are underdeveloped. The cut we saw really underused Lauren Graham and Judy Greer. The film was written and directed by Michael Traeger, whose most notable previous credit was writing the script of MTV's Dead Man on Campus (ouch). The script was really funny and the direction was suitable, though not very special. Based on what Joe said at the first screening, it sounds like they will only be changing the opening of the film – so the cut I saw was pretty close to finished. I believe it will be hitting theaters late spring/early summer. All in all it was an entertaining little indie comedy and its worth checking out for a good laugh.

How did this cast assemble for such a bad film and bad script? The whole basis of the movie (a small town bands together to make a porno) has no motivation: Jeff Bridges is sitting in a bar then suddenly starts having a seizure and next thing you know he wants to make a porno!? The directing is extremely sloppy, amateurish, and stilted. The cinematography is horrible...why is this whole movie shot in muted colors?? Jeff Bridge's voice over, throughout the movie, must have been added after editing to help move things along but it's just repetitious, distracting, and annoying. (Believe me, I never thought I would say Jeff Bridges is annoying.) It's unfortunate that such a good cast was completely wasted. I hope Kevin Smith's attempt at this genre (he's coming out with a similar movie about amateurs making a porno) is better than this rubbish.

We just viewed this movie at the Waterfront Film Festival. The storyline is amusing. The characters are a mix of endearing quirky sorts. The characters are likable and the writer's don't cheat the audience. The plot itself is just plain funny. In small town America, can you imagine how odd it would be, if the town decided to make a * film. Lots of laugh-out-loud scenes, as they fumble thru the plans to get the porno underway. Think of your neighborhood or town, and the challenge of finding the right man/woman to act in the film. Hilarious! Not sure when this will be released to the public, or where, but I recommend it. If you'd like an entertaining, light-hearted, enjoyable film ... this is it.

A brilliant and subtle movie. If you like quick mind candy and over done special effects you will not enjoy this film. However if you like human stories with endearing comedy you will love this film. Joe Pantoliano totally sacrificed his tough guy image that he developed in the Sopranos in order to clearly and humorously depict a quirky character in the film. Ted Danson did the same; totally destroying that suave smooth Cheers persona that he has been maintaining for so many years. WARNING: People who want the actors stuck in a box don't go and see this film. It is a brilliant fast moving witty depiction of the dreams that so many of us have, but few have the courage to fulfill.

Seduced by the cast list and concept, I took this home from my local video store only to end up staring in disbelief: how did they get it so very, very wrong? I love Jeff Bridges. but his acting here was little more than scenery-chewing; it was as though the subtext to most of his lines was "I don't have much to work with here, so maybe if I overact and gesticulate, no one will notice how poor the script is." There were a few good moments: William Fichtner brought an energy to his role that set his performance apart from the others, and Lauren Graham's expressive face wrung far more depth and emotion out of her scenes than the film deserved. Other than that, however, I was amazed that these people got involved with such a misbegotten project. I have to admit, it wasn't horrible, and is probably worth a rental if you've nothing else to watch, but it has little to recommend it. Don't be suckered in by the cast and premise; these Amateurs are all hat and no rider.

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this and it was a blast. Anyone know when it'll be out in theaters? - many of my friends would like to see it now that I've been telling them some of my favorite scenes. Bill Fichnter's character was by far my favorite although I also loved Jeff Bridges' and Ted Dansons' characters as well. The humor is very quirky - refreshing compared to the formulaic junk that Hollywood typically puts on in the comedy genre. My only issue was that the ending was a bit cheesy - but not enough to detract from the movie in the slightest. I look forward to taking my friends to see this since I know they'll all love it.

This film was just awful. I saw it a couple of weeks ago and it really wasted my time. For those people who said this movie was funny. Well the only thing I can say you are easily entertained. The actors in this movie seemed like they were fumbling to what to say. I nearly fell asleep. In fact, there were so few reactions from the audience that I thought everyone else was asleep too. This must be a first for the director and the writer caused they sure proved it, either that or they are just really bad at it. My suggestions find new careers. I really don't know what direction where they are going with this film. But if I was an the investor in this film, I definitely want my money back. I would NOT put any more money distributing this film and put it directly in the trash. Word to the writer....FIND A NEW CAREER.