The Moguls Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Not your average adult movie.
Sex sells in America and these guys know it. The Amateurs follows a small town band of loveable losers who hit upon an idea that can make their dreams and fantasies come true. Thinking they've found the road to riches and fame they decide to make the world's most innocent adult film. Everyman's fantasy turns into a hilarious misadventure when they find they're in way over their heads.
| Jeff Bridges | Andy Sargentee |
| Tim Blake Nelson | Barney Macklehatton |
| Joe Pantoliano | Some Idiot |
| William Fichtner | Otis |
| Ted Danson | Moose |
| Patrick Fugit | Emmett |
| John Hawkes | Moe |
| Brad William Henke | Ron |
| Glenne Headly | Helen Tatelbaum |
| Tom Bower | Floyd |
| Dawn Didawick | Clara |
| Jayne Taini | Mrs. Morelli |
| Lauren Graham | Peggy |
| Jeanne Tripplehorn | Thelma |
| Alex D. Linz | Billy |
| Michael Traeger |
6.60 out of 10 (479 votes)
Visitor Reviews
small town America is beautiful
posted on 30 May 2009I saw this film at the Newport Beach Film Festival where it was a hit. The demand was so high that the programmers had to add a second screening, which sold out as well. This is a fantastic comedic view of how beautiful small town American life can be. Jeff Bridges plays such a charming, delightful, and well intending mess a of grown man whose humongous heart shines all the way through the movie.The camaraderie between the whole cast is infectious (what a great cast) and makes you wish you were there with them. Go see this film!! And tell your friends!!!
A fun, light-hearted movie!
posted on 10 May 2009I first saw this movie at the Waterfront Film Festival in Michigan and loved it. I will admit that it is not the greatest movie I have seen but it was able to keep my attention. It is definitely worth a night out! After wondering if I would be uncomfortable watching this with a group of strangers, I came to realize that it is really a hilarious story of what life could be like in a really small town when someone has really BIG ideas. I enjoyed that it is really a low-key movie where the story line is both silly-funny and warm-hearted. The crowd was definitely roaring through a lot of the story. I definitely want to see this movie again to fill in the "how did I miss that" scenes!
Joke. Thud. Joke. Thud. The flat coke of sex comedies.
posted on 08 Apr 2009You may remember a little movie being advertised back in 2005 called The Moguls. It starred Jeff Bridges playing a riff on his "Dude" persona and a whole load of other respected character actors such as William Fichtner, Joe Pantoliano, Tim Blake Nelson, John Hawkes, promising up and comer Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) and Ted Danson. The film looked amusing, quite possibly a fine night in, one could do much worse. Time goes by and we hear nothing more about it. Then suddenly, out of the blue in November 2007, we begin to see a little movie being advertised called The Amateurs, a sweet little comedy romp starring Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson and a host of respected talent.The reason for this pull back and re-release is simple. The Moguls, The Amateurs or whatever you want to call it, just isn't very good. In fact, it stinks like a big pile of dirty knickers. Brace yourself, because now, I'm going to tell you why.The Moguls/Amateurs begins with Andy (Bridges) a divorcée who visits his son on his birthday to discover that his ex's new partner is filthy rich. Andy goes to his local bar, head hanging, realising he's never done anything with his life. Finally, Andy comes to the conclusion that the only way to win his son's respect is - to make a porno.As we are introduced one by one to the characters, we meet Mo and Ron. Of course, they call them Mo-Ron. We also meet a character named Some Idiot. ("Amateur porn, the stuff that Any Idiot can make with his video camera," "hey Some Idiot's got a brother!") Moose (Danson) is gay, but doesn't want anyone to know, yet of course, they all do because he acts like your average stereotypical homosexual. Crickets. Tumbleweed. Otis, played by William Fichtner, wants to know if there's a guy who just stands around on the set and so he is made executive producer of the porno. And so the lazily written and completely unnecessary voice over goes on, pointing out each and every thing in the movie that we can quite clearly see or work out for ourselves. Andy's inner monologue delights in it's quirky pausing of the film to slip in a quick jokey point about a character or point something out to us that we may need to know later on. A neon sign saying "Look! Look here for a plot point!" would have been less obvious. This voice-over even has the audacity to tell us that when making a film, one of the main things you must do is to show and not tell. You would think that writer-director Michael Traeger would have caught the irony.This opening half hour is rushed and unconvincing, with very little actual character development with which to care about anything that's going on. A film similar in overall character to this one would be Dodgeball in which we have a group of likable underdogs who are not only developed but have quirks that are actually quirky. Here, the characters only need a few seconds of pointless voice over to describe their entire lives and make the caricatures of Poseidon look they strolled right out of Of Mice and Men.The script itself is a lame duck and that reflects in the performances. There are, for example, some potentially funny situations put forth here, for example the porno production meeting at Some Idiot's house where he lives with his mother, but the execution is so bland that none of the actual comedy gets across. Another scene in which Andy has an argument in a crowded coffee shop with Isiah Washington about big black phalli as customers leave in disgust also falls short and ends up being a tad racist as well as being as unfunny as, well, someone shouting the word 'd*ck' in a coffee shop. The constant, feeble, desperate attempts at euphemistic humour are about as funny as listening to a conversation between a group of 14 year old boys giggling about sex.A burning question here is, how, if the entire crew are made to stand with their backs turned the entire way through shooting a scene, do the pans and alternative angles get in there? Extraordinary. How do industry professionals get it so wrong? You'd think they would be their own technical advisors. As it is, the cinematography in this film is flat and uninteresting, making Year of the Dog look positively vibrant.One wonders how this cast were attracted to such a script. Lauren Graham seems to be wondering exactly what it is she's doing there as her character is nothing but a potential love interest for Bridges to bumble over. Ten Danson's buttocks look to be particularly self conscious, an image that I would have quite happily gone without. It's not sordid enough to be shocking or daring and not amiable enough to be sweet or heart warming. By the end, the film has degenerated into one big schmaltzy love-in without having earned it, culminating in an awful slow motion conga montage of respected talent acting elated in the most unconvincing way possible. The final 'twist' ending, if you can call it that, is at first glance interesting and suggests that there may be hope for the film yet, but the neatness of it all brings us right back to contrivance once again, inane voice over checking the characters' fates off the list one by one as it did at the start.It's easy to see why this film was so desperately pulled and re-issued under the guise of quirky low budget indie. Apparently, the film is slightly re-edited in it's 2007 form, although I can scarcely imagine that a few re-cuts could improve on such a dud. I wonder if writer-director Michael Traeger really does believe that Any Idiot can make a movie. Maybe he should have just let him.
Do you really want to waste your time on this film?
posted on 24 Jan 2009OK where do I start or do I?? I got in invitation to see a prescreening of this film and I would have to say I would be very embarrassed to be part of it. The writing was horrible. It had a GREAT CAST and tried to do the very best they could with the material but it was NOT believable. There were probably 2 times that I laughed. I like Jeff Bridges as an actor but I didn't feel him to be real. I felt like he was reading his lines, just no feeling whatsoever, it was like, HERE I AM, FILM ME, HOPEFULLY I CAN REMEMBER MY WORDS AND FORGIVE ME WHEN I STUMBLE MY WORDS. I have gone to several prescreenings and I am very generous when I comes to grading a film but this film really wasted my time. The concept of film is interesting and would have worked but it didn't for me. Also I like Ted Danson but I don't think this role is for him, he tried too hard to prove that he could do this character--just didn't work out. If this film goes to the screen I will be very surprised. I hope they don't waste a lot of money advertising this movie because I can see 2 weeks tops at the theater and you will never hear of it again til it comes out on CABLE. I keep an open mind but 10 minutes into this film I knew this film was not going to be good but was hoping to prove me wrong but it just didn't. So if you 2 hours to kill and some money to blow--by all means this film might be for you.
Horrible
posted on 22 Jan 2009I have to say I saw this movie 2 years ago and this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I am not surprised at all this film hasn't been released yet. Jeff Bridges, which by the way I highly admire but after seeing this film and the door in the floor, he has truly slipped!!! In this film he stumbles his words. He seems as though he has forgotten his lines and just rambles on and one till it kinda sorta sounds like this is his lines. Jeff did not seem like he was sober in this film.As for Ted Danson, PLEASE, I beg you do not play another gay man. You are great actor but you can NOT play a gay man.The concept is good but the writing is horrible. My advise to the writer: go back to writing school or learn a different trade.
Honest, Genuinely Funny, and Very Touching Little Film
posted on 27 Nov 2008THE AMATEURS is about as close to the quality of British film comedies (a high compliment indeed!) as we have seen, thanks to writer/director Michael Traeger. It is everything a small town community aura represents without the stumbling blocks of cruelty that so often provide the turning point in 'rural stories' that defame the simple homespun humanity that is too often foreign to the big city life. Perhaps to refer to it as 'sweet' will rile some review readers, but for this viewer the overriding emotion at the close of the story is just that - sweet, in the finest sense of the term.The film is narrated by the down and out, unemployed, newly divorced middle-aged crisis victim Andy Sargentee (Jeff Bridges) who spends his time in the local watering hole trying to come up with an idea that will change his fortune - and life. Giving up his marriage to Thelma (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and his son Billy (Alex D. Linz) has been painful but Andy believes he will somehow regain their respect by discovering his 'big idea'. Surrounding him are other underachievers such as Some Idiot (Joe Pantoliano), Barney Macklehatton (Tim Blake Nelson) hopelessly in love with loony dreamer Helen (Glenne Headly), church janitor Otis (William Fichtner), local video store worker and video buff Emmett (Patrick Fugit), Moe/Ron (John Hawkes and Brad William Henke) who are never seen alone, the closeted gay Moose (Ted Danson), and bartender Floyd (Tom Bower) among other 'observers'. A wild idea occurs to Andy: he and his friends could make an amateur porn film and make money and gain fame. Out of both love of Andy and individual needs to make something of their boring existence in the little town, the group commits to helping Andy with his project. How the steps succeed and fail underline the integrity and unconditional friendship these simple people represent. Along the way we meet the porn film's stars including Valerie Perrine, Judy Greer, Fiona Hunter, Isaiah Washington, Melinda Dahl - all of whom eagerly participate in the 'very private' filming concept of an amateur porn film. How the final product is threatened and ultimately survives produces the warm ending to the film. And along the way we get to know Thelma's new husband Howard (Steven Weber) who breaks the stereotype of the rich new stepfather, and these small town folk including Dawn Didawick, Jayne Taini, Lauren Graham, and Eileen Brennan (who contributes a very special cameo role).The film has been named THE MOGULS and DIRTY MOVIE in other countries and perhaps that confusion of titles has been part of the problem of the lack of promotion the film received in the theaters. But in a way, seeing this very special movie in home surroundings adds to the intimacy and the very warmly honest view of the genuinely kind and caring interrelationships among the people of this small town. There is much to be learned from this film and the added features include the writer/director sharing the experience with each of the actors in this truly ensemble work. Highly recommended. Grady Harp
a truly ideal cast, a few funny moments, but it doesn't grasp its tone by the throat
posted on 29 Aug 2008Maybe the director, Michael Traeger, may do something better in the future, who knows. The guy's previous writing credit was Dead Man on Campus, a sub-par MTV dorm-comedy, so that doesn't say a whole lot. He's not exactly, as a character is named in the film, "Some Idiot", but someone who knows how to put a strong cast together to try and elevate material. The problem is, he's made things so basic that there's not much room for much subtlety or real wit past the standards of the characterizations. It's like a sitcom with a bit more money and a bit more prestige, and somehow a lot of people (including star Jeff Bridges, who originally passed on the project) thought the film was a good idea AND didn't need more work script-wise.Frankly, there's too much narration. One of the ironies is that Bridges' character Andy makes note of how in movies to "show, not tell." Cardinal rule, for sure, but the very writer/director at the helm doesn't even really follow it! It's one of the toughest aspects of a film to create worthwhile narration, but it doesn't help to go to an extreme and make it almost anything but. It's also a sign of lazy writing that he doesn't take the material where it really needs to go. This could be a razor sharp comedy, but too much of it, as with a sitcom, thinks it's funnier than it really is. For all the tiny moments of some comedy that do work out (mostly in part to some of the unexpected turns from the actors, like William Finley who has *never* been that funny in a movie before), it's overloaded.The bottom line is the obvious writing and the direction, shot also TV-style with LOTS of extra light thrown on when not necessary, is completely reliant on the actors to do something with it. They do try, Lord, they do. How could you not with these people: Jeff Bridges, a true-blue talent who could read a computer manual brilliantly; Tim Blake Nelson, wonderful character actor from O Brother Where Art Thou; Joe Pantoliano, playing against type in good form; Ted Danson, where's he been lately aside from being somehow *terrific* in this; Patrick Fugit, who is the only one to actually underplay his part (albeit mostly in the background); Finley, as mentioned, maybe the best of the bunch. Others like Jeanne Tripplehorn, Isaiah Washington, the actress from Lenny (I forget her name), Lauren Graham. They all have something worthwhile for the production.And at the end, for a comedy about making a porno in a small-town, it's mostly, kinda... bland. "Some Idiot", not really, just Some Whatever.
Making movies
posted on 19 Aug 2008Recently divorced Andy wants some excitement out of his dreary life in a small town. After giving thought to any number of possibilities, he decides to interest many of his friends into going along in making a porno film. This preposterous idea catches the town's imagination. They all agree it's an excellent way to make some money and have fun while at it. The only problem is Andy, or his cronies have no clue as how to go about it."The Moguls", written and directed by Michael Traeger is a film with no agenda to wow the viewer and that is why it is the fun it is to watch. The director was blessed in assembling the best cast money could buy. After all, a film with Jeff Bridges in it can't be bad. Mr. Bridges is one of our best film actors in that he is so adaptable to whatever part he plays that it is always a pleasure to see him on the screen. He is totally sincere in his approach to acting, perhaps the best asset any actor could have.Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pantoliano, Ted Danson, Glenne Headley, Jane Tripplehorn, William Fichtner, Patrick Fugit, among others, act as an ensemble team, no doubt inspired by Mr. Traeger, who gets good results out of the talented cast he put together.The film doesn't ask anything out of the viewer. So just relax and have fun watching it.
Just saw this at the Delray Beach Film Festival...
posted on 07 May 2008OK, so I have to say, any movie about porn, well, conjures up the idea that you're going to have nudity all over the place. Yet somehow this film about porn has next to none of it, and that's a good thing. In the place of bare asses, it has some great performances and funny sequences. Notably Jeff Bridges' character channels a Dude-like vibe while still feeling fresh and different. Joey Pants is bizarre and at the same time likable in his role whose name you just need to watch to see and laugh at. Finally Ted Danson is so completely cast against everything I have seen him in previously and it works. It's a sad state of affairs in Hollywood when you see a preview for a film like this and cringe, knowingly the almost inevitable result would be a lame script with called-in performances. Thankfully, the result is an unexpectedly good natured romp…about porn. I hope this film gets the attention and wide release it deserves.
Interesting premise, but unfunny and predictable
posted on 13 Feb 2008This 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
A rather good draft of a better movie
posted on 07 Feb 2008Watchable for its atmosphere of calmness and innocence. The plot is promising, the cast fabulous, but what is missing then? Of course, the film has some situation humor and the acting is good enough, but all in all it seems like they still had something more to "squeeze" out of it. It looks like a draft, a good one, but still a draft. Simple is good, but at the right time and amount. Some moments and characters were skipped over too quickly, the off voice and music were a bit too much, and since there were no blatant dialog jokes, the overall pace should have been slower in order to underline the comic situations more through acting.
How could you not like this movie?
posted on 03 Aug 2007For those of you in search of a movie that will make you laugh, here is your pick. I have read comments from users saying that this movie "didn't seem real" or "wasn't believable". To you, I ask: What did you think you were watching? I saw this screening at the Newport Film Festival and thought it was amazing. Some movies (gasp) are out there to entertain and this does just that... fantastically. It is a story that laughs at the ups and downs of the human experience while portraying the sometimes very harsh reality of middle-class struggle. It gives us a story we recognize to a certain extent, but garnishes it with a great variety of endearing characters. As an example the group of "guys" has a wonderfully accepted gay guy who asked the guys to call him MOOSE. (played oh-so-well by Ted Danson) We see the standard group of small town guys, going nowhere with their lives, yet they aren't the stereotypical unrelatable morons of modern day cinema; They, in a very round about and strange way, have morals and try to do well in life, despite their position. Go see this movie... it is a wonderful treat and a great time at the theatre.
Not Bad at All
posted on 09 May 2007I didn't know what to think at first when I put it into the DVD player. But once it was started it really turned out to be a decent movie. Jeff Bridges always seems to get the strangest roles (like The Dude in the Big Lebowski) but somehow he always comes through with an excellent performance. We saw many other notable actors such as Ted Danson, William Fitchner and Tim Blake Nelson. The cast was put together well and the story was original and worthy of checking out. It had it's one liners and funny moments, but the story also brought good moral into the end. I really would recommend for all fans of Jeff Bridges' work to check it out sometime. It wasn't a really strong hyped movie, but hey it was all and all decent, because of the story that it had to it. This movie to me deserves a total of 8/10 stars. Basically because it entertained me.
Go see it if you have a chance
posted on 09 May 2007I 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.
An entertaining adult comedy
posted on 23 Apr 2007I 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 porn 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.
Great cast. Horrible movie.
posted on 09 Apr 2007How 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.
Saw it
posted on 03 Apr 2007Saw the World Premiere and Santa Barbara Int'l FF last night.A very funny film with an all star cast. Stars Jeff Bridges, Joe Patalinano, Ted Danson, Tim Blake Nelson, Bill Fichtner, Pat Fugit among others. Bridges plays a small time guy who has been unsuccessful in life. Him and his low life buddies decide to make an amateur porn film. Lots of big laughs. It is like State and Main meets Boogie Nights. Bridges is always good and Ted Danson gives one of the funniest supporting comedic performances I have ever seen. The end seemed a bit thrown together, but very funny. I give it a "B+". Will be out later this year
This film should be required viewing!!
posted on 21 Jan 2007What an amazing film - like many of the other IMDb users, I had never heard of it and stumbled across it in the video shop. I am so glad I did. It is one of the most heart-warming films I have ever seen. The acting and direction are superb, and I will even let my 11 year old watch it, as it deals with sex in the most enlightened way, no smut or vulgarity, just good honest fun. God knows why this film was never advertised - although maybe it is better for the fact that it is so low key?? Jeff Bridges was always one of my favourite actors - he just went even higher up in my estimation, as did all of the other actors who took part in this. Watch this film - it will warm the cockles of your heart.
Moguls is hilariously funny with a moral
posted on 20 Dec 2006I have never laughed so hard in a movie as I did Sunday night in Santa Barbara. I have known characters like these all my life who continue to try and succeed in life to win the respect and love of family e.g. Bridges's son. The main motive in life should not be monetary gain but being loved by those who love you. This is the moral of this wonderful movie which made my eyes misty at the end when Bridges kept replaying his son's voice mail,"....I love you Dad!" and then put the new sheets on his son's bed. The characters all mirror Bridges's desire to succeed at something in life. Bridges is like a pied piper in uniting the cast to follow his lead. Danson is a riot. Pantoliano is absolutely terrific. I have never seen him before in such a subdued hilariously funny role. Run! Don't walk to this very wonderful movie. Adding to the foregoing comment which was written over a year ago, I saw the re-cut version of the film last night(4/22/06) and wondered why many of the scenes of the funny grumpy old guy, (Clara's man) were cut, particularly the part near the end when he drives away in a new car with a wide smile after he had been frowning during the whole film. The re-cut version is a tighter film which focuses almost completely on the main characters at the expense of the peripheral characters. However, it is still a terrific film.
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Little Lebowski -- The studio's changing the movie's name won't really help. It's a bit like milk on the last day of its shelf life, however
posted on 02 Aug 2009Jeff Bridges is one of my favorite actors; Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pants, and Glenn Headley, while not my 'faves', are nonetheless always a good supporting cast, sturdy character actors. Anyway, I was predisposed to like this movie, and I kinda did. It wasn't a great movie, which was a surprise and a disappointment. It was sort of dim, and had--- not a darkness, exactly--- but a kind of a threadbare-ness, a shabbiness about it. It wasn't just that the characters portrayed were low-lifes, poor, uneducated, and mostly losers (albeit kindly ones). The dimness went deeper than that. Maybe the film was blurred, or the lighting wasn't crisp--- dunno. But SOMETHING was 'off', like milk on the last day of its shelf life. You keep asking yourself--- has this gone bad? But then, you keep drinking it.And the studio changed the movie's name. I saw it in Wales (in the UK), months ago. Evidently the advance buzz was pretty bad. So they changed it from 'The Moguls' to 'The Amateurs'. A sure sign of desperation. But, alas, that's not going to save it.Jeff Bridges plays lovable, 'ordinary' guys that are extra solid, and extra real. He plays characters that are very easy for a man (I'm about his age, and coincidentally lived in Santa Barbara, his town, for years) to relate to. At least I do. It appears, based on his wide appeal, that women like him too. I also admire him for eschewing the Red Carpet, paparazzi-chasing kind of celebrity grab that so many other actors have fallen prey to (IMHO: Brad Pitt, Ben Afflect, Julia Roberts, to name but a few). Unfortunately, the tone set here was either missed, or set too low. Bridge's characters, and the supporting cast's characters, are just too loser-y, too dim, too depressing.This movie also reminded me of 'The Big Lebowski'--- another Jeff Bridges movie, and another dark-ish movie about low-lifes, but one that was much, much better done than 'The Moguls' (now known as 'The Amateurs'). The derivativeness kind of rankled with me a bit.This movie could have been brighter, funnier, and stronger. It could have been better. It has a few things to admire, though, so if you've seen everything else at your theater, or nothing else strikes your fancy, try this one. And, let's all hope meanwhile that Jeff Bridges' next movie will be more like his usual great work.