Jeff Bridges names the most underrated movie of his career: “A film that I’m very proud of”
In February 2005, a low-budget independent film debuted at the Santa Barbara Film Festival that boasted an unusually starry cast. Jeff Bridges was the lead in the picture, but he was supported by Ted Danson, Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pantoliano, William Fichtner, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. It would take nearly a year and a half for the movie to release in the UK, though, and almost three full years for it to bow in limited release in the US. Reviews weren’t kind to the movie, although Bridges disagreed. In fact, he even named it the most underrated effort of his storied career.
Bridges has always been one of Hollywood’s most singular stars. For one thing, despite having made countless iconic films across more than 50 years in the business, he often professes that he’s never exactly keen to work. In fact, courting him to commit to a movie is often a lengthy process for filmmakers and studios.
“I do my best to not do anything,” Bridges chuckled to CBS News in 2007. “I notice that’s sort of my MO. I put a lot of energy into resisting doing things. It takes a lot for me to engage.” He insisted that, once he decides a project is something he wants to do, though, he engages fully. Then, with a sly grin, he admitted, “Getting me to the table is tough.”
Bridges revealed that the factor that prompted him to commit to The Amateurs, which was originally titled The Moguls, was the “freshness” of the script. He found that writer/director Michael Traeger’s comedy about six small-town pals who try to make a feature-length adult movie had a story and a tone that consistently surprised him. It also felt new and dangerous because it was unlike anything he’d ever read.
He was wary of the pornography subject matter, but when Traeger got the cast together for a reading, he realised, ” Oh, this is going to be a good one.” He also insisted that Traeger hit on the concept of regular people making a pornographic film long before the Seth Rogen-starring, Kevin Smith-directed Zack & Miri Make a Porno.
Sadly for Bridges, though, despite having a superb time making the movie, he was helpless when it ran into distribution problems after the shoot wrapped. In 2010, he told Rotten Tomatoes, “It was a wonderful film, got great laughs, and then it got picked up by a distributor who went bankrupt and took about five or six movies down with him, and the movies got very small releases.”
It was a frustrating fate for a movie Bridges was “very proud of” and truly believed people would like it if they gave it a chance. He felt Traeger was a good filmmaker, noting, “I’ve had great success with first-time guys.” Unfortunately, though, The Amateurs would prove to be Traeger’s sole directorial effort, and his last credit was the script for the 2007 TV movie, Manchild.
Heartwarmingly, Bridges was still singing the praises of The Amateurs seven years down the line. When Den of Geek interviewed him about Kingsman: The Golden Circle, a movie sure to be seen by millions of people, he made sure to bring up The Amateurs when asked about his films that didn’t get the recognition they deserved. To Bridges’ astonishment, the interviewer had actually seen it, to which he smiled, “You’re one of the rare few guys.”
It turned out the journalist had interviewed Fichtner (The Dark Knight) a few years earlier, who also spoke of how proud he was of the movie. This delighted Bridges, who exclaimed, “Oh yeah, we had such a good time on that movie!” He added, “I had such a fun time making The Amateurs, and it was such a great film…Then it hadn’t been released properly, there were a lot of legal things. It was kind of painful.”
