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August 01, 2003
The Secret Lives of Dentists
(out of four)
David and Dana Hurst are dentists. Why dentists? Because that's the last person you want to imagine letting his personal life interfere with his work, work that generally involves a steady hand and a certain facility with sharp metal instruments. No one wants to come to mid-root canal to realize that his oral surgeon has been daydreaming about whether his wife is cheating on him.
In The Secret Lives of Dentists, David (Campbell Scott) and Dana (Hope Davis) share both a dental practice and a bed, but David also thinks he may be sharing Dana with someone else. At first, his suspicion begins as a dull, throbbing ache, a nagging doubt he can't quite shake. Too meek to confront his wife directly, David conjures up fantasy visits from a disgruntled patient (Denis Leary), a sort of hipster "Harvey" who prods David into action.
Dentists is a simple movie, modestly plotted but exceptionally observant with regard to the little compromises of married life. In one extended sequence, a stomach flu sweeps through the family, reducing each of the three children and both parents to violent fits of vomiting. It's not a pretty sight, but it's dead-on, and it's refreshing to see the family temporarily reunited in the midst of such a mundane crisis. But will it last? Here's a movie that aspires to more than just another happy ending, but really seems to understand the complexities of the question.
[as featured on Moviefone.com]
Posted by Peter Debruge on