The Amateurs

2005 film by Michael Traeger

February 2005 (2005-02) (Santa Barbara Film Festival)^[1]

CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$64,253^[2]

The Amateurs, originally called The Moguls, is a 2005 comedy film written and directed by Michael Traeger and starring Jeff Bridges.^[3] The story revolves around six friends in a small town in the United States who decide to make a full-length amateur adult film.^[4]

The film was released under the title The Moguls in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2006. The film was released under the title The Amateurs and opened in limited release in the United States on December 7, 2007.

Plot

Six friends come together to try to find fame and fortune by making the world's most innocent adult movie ever made. Although they have literally no idea what they're doing, they keep at it and are determined to accomplish their goal...no matter what gets in the way.

After the clueless crew finally completes the film, they screen it for the first time at the local bar. The brother of a girl whose scene ultimately was not used (besides some brief shots of her face) barges in, takes the reel off the projector, covers it in whiskey and sets it aflame.

It is revealed that this was the only print they had and that all their work has been lost. However, the cinematographer had been videotaping the entire production process on mini DV tapes. He then edits these down into a completely innocent documentary, minus the nudity and sex scenes, about the trials and tribulations of making (and then losing) their original film. This new version is released as the titular The Amateurs which becomes a critical and financial success on the independent film circuit.

Cast

Jeff Bridges as Andy
Tim Blake Nelson as Barney
William Fichtner as Otis
Joe Pantoliano as Some Idiot
Patrick Fugit as Emmett
Isaiah Washington as Homer
Steven Weber as Howard
Ted Danson as "Moose"
John Hawkes as Moe
Jeanne Tripplehorn as Thelma
Glenne Headly as Helen
Tom Bower as Floyd
Lauren Graham as Peggy
Dawn Didawick as Clara
Norm O'Neill as Clara's Man
Alex D. Linz as Billy

References

^ "A wasted effort for some film acting pros". Los Angeles Times. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
^ "The Amateurs". Box Office Mojo.
^ Mark Deming (2015). "The Amateurs". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-06-10.
^ "Jeff Bridges Is No 'Amateur'". CBS News. January 11, 2009.