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If you took the time to see "American Splendor" when it was circulating around the theatres, you know all about the walking ball of talent that is Hope Davis. She embodies every character she has ever portrayed, and like Patricia Clarkson, is becoming more and more timely and selective with her roles, something that is increasing her Hollywood clout and causing more people to remember her name. Personally, she was the only reason I was interested in "The Secret Lives of Dentists". I mean, Denis Leary has yet to prove himself as a solid dramatic actor, and Campbell Scott has bored me to tears since "Dying Young". He has no charisma. Alas, Leary and Scott surprised me in this film -- not enough of a surprise for me to give the film a glowing review, but enough for me to not give the film a dismal bashing. *****

This story is not a simple one. It deals with relationships; it deals with emotions; and, it deals with how people drift apart over time, not knowing they are doing so until it is too late to fix. Campbell Scott & Hope Davis star as David & Dana Hurst. They met in dental school, fell immediately in love, and were quickly married. Now, they share three children and a dental practice. Their life seems normal and jubilant on the surface -- the perfect family. However, there are deep rooted problems between the two. David is very despondent. He rarely ever communicates with Dana, and when they do talk, she feels as if everything she is saying is going in one ear and quickly out the other. This strained relationship at home leads Dana to have an affair. David knows of the affair, but says nothing because he is too afraid of the consequences. *****

One day, an overly cranky and unusually aggressive patient named Slater shows up and starts causing immediate problems for David, even going so far as to tell an entire opera audience that David is a terrible dentist. David does not like Slater, but something inside clicks. David immediately begins using Slater to help sort out his problems. It is not the real Slater, however, but David's imagined version of Slater. Whenever there is a problem -- Slater is there. Whenever David is being forced to face something he does not want to face -- Slater is there. It is easy to think of the Slater character as somewhat of a multiple personality for David, though his psychosis is not nearly as deep as a schizophrenic's might be. Slater is merely David's way of handling uncomfortable emotions and uncomfortable situations that arise in his life. *****

The audience finds it difficult to identify with and support a character. The character of David is pitiful -- too afraid of what will happen to his perfect life. We cannot identify with him, let alone sympathize with a man who has, ultimately, served as the person who has driven his wife to the affair. And, how can we identify with Dana -- a woman who pushes aside her family for a temporary fling. This affair isn't as innocent as Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson's in "Lost In Translation" -- oh, no. We feel betrayed that Dana has done this -- that she could go against her marital vows so easily. The only other primary character with which to identify is Slater -- and that is a character that is used too frequently and overdone. Slater is fine as a real person, as someone who sparks something in David. But, when Slater starts popping up in David's thoughts, this film starts to seem less like "American Beauty" and more like "The Dentist". I kept waiting for Corbin Bernsen to pop out with a rusty drill. *****

The performances are what separate this film from every other cinematic journey out there. Hope Davis never misses a note as Dana, a woman so strained by her life that she needs escape more than anything else. Campbell Scott turns in his finest performance to date as the sad and confused David. And, Denis Leary may not be the best dramatic actor, but he does exactly what this roll calls for -- he is obnoxious when he needs to be, wise when he needs to be, and is just plain Denis Leary the rest of the time. It seemed to me as if maybe this role was written with Leary in mind. *****

There really are no satisfying resolutions in "The Secret Lives of Dentists". We leave the theatre with the feeling that we have undergone a great deal, but with left with very little other than some possible names to remember for future films. In some ways, I felt like this was one of those really good Lifetime movies, with a better than normal cast and a script that could have been handled a lot better by a different director. Alan Rudolph has signs of talent, but material like this would have been bettered served with a director like Lawrence Kasdan or Barry Levinson.

This is one of those films that does not rely on high quality color and sound for the effect. There are no explosions for the Dolby Surround to highten. There are no thunderstorms to make the speakers rattle. This is pure family drama. The transfer quality turned out nicer than I usually see in lower budget films like this, but it was nothing special. It's like watching the DVD transfer of "Night of the Living Dead" -- do we really want to see a perfect transfer? The old feeling is what makes it a little creepier. Here, keeping it low key does extra justice to the story and to the plot itself.

Films like "The Secret Lives of Dentists" do not receive the full DVD packages we see with films like "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Seabiscuit". Here, we have the bare minimum. As with most indie films of late, Sundance's "Anatomy of A Scene" gives us a little insight into the minds of the director and the director of photography, and they have chosen the perfect scene from the film to highlight. *****

Unfortunately, the deleted scenes do seem like they should have been discarded. There is nothing on that feature that seemed worthy enough to make it to the final cut. A friend of mine let me in on a little secret -- when this film was first shown at film festivals across the country, it clocked in at an astonishing 131 minutes. I did a little adding -- and, with the actual running time and the running times of all the deleted scenes, there is still a serious amount of missing footage. Where did it go? I don't know, but if it is anything like the footage on this DVD, it deserves to stay hidden and lost forever. *****

The gag reel serves as the bes surprise in the package. The actors and filmmakers seem to be having way to much fun for a film this complex and this heavy. Campbell Scott may be boring on the big screen, but he is quite the comedian on the set (you will have to decide if I am being sarcastic or not). Also, watch the theatrical trailer -- it might be the most uninteresting trailer ever assembled, and it explains why this film did not achieve as much bank as one my assume.