I’ve wanted to see this movie for quite a while. It was released in 2002, starring Steve Martin (Pink Panther, Cheaper By The Dozen), Helena Bonham-Carter (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride), and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park). But, since it never seemed to do well, and wasn’t so appealing to my friends and brother, we never rented it, though. But, when it showed up, in VHS form, on Blockbusters buy one (for $2) and get one free rack, we decided to check it out.
(Just to get it off my chest, I have a crush on Helena Bonham Carter. She has an amazing screen presence, an offbeat style, plays every role very well, and has a beautiful voice. Plus, she is Tim Burton’s fiancé, and has been in all his films since Planet of the Apes. Great reasons to like someone, I think. Back to the review.)
It’s about an honest dentist, named Frank (played by Martin), who has what appears to be the perfect life. He is running a very successful dental practice, is engaged to his assistant, Jean Noble (played by Dern), and is brilliantly happy. But, when a new patient, Susan Ivey (played by Bonham-Carter), a young woman who is in dire need of a root canal, comes to his office, trouble begins. She changes her prescription of painkillers, she doesn’t show for her appointment, and then seduces Frank after work, fulfilling every dentist’s dream of getting personal in the chair. Soon his tidy, prosperous life, and dental practice, becomes a hilarious quagmire of illicit sex, illegal drugs, and murder.
The plot takes several twists along the way, some expected, some not so expected. Susan begins to fall for Frank. Her brother is the one selling his drugs. The DEA shows up to ask questions. Frank’s loser brother shows up and needs a place to stay. And from there on come the twistiest twists of all. I won’t give them away, but I was amused by how things developed. By the end of the movie, I was left saying, “why didn’t we check this out before now?” to which no one had a good answer.
Although I enjoyed the movie (and am glad to own it), there were just no way I can see its ending actually working like it portrays. On top of that, the police in the movie are stereotypical idiots. When Frank is arrested, no one thinks about asking about alibis, because there is “too much evidence” against him. Even how he manages to escape, right beneath the cops noses, is too farfetched.
Sure, it’s plot has a few holes, the story isn’t the greatest, and it wasn’t a blockbuster success with a huge budget, but with the actors and actresses it has, and the cool twists it manages to conceal and whip out fairly successfully, I’d recommend it to most anyone. Unless you’re one of the mindless dolts that loves a long, boring, pointless, and over budgeted movie like A-1… then nothing good would appease you anyway.