The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002)

THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS  (2002)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Alan Rudolph
    Campbell Scott, Hope Davis,
    Denis Leary, Robin Tunney
Scott and Davis play an upper-middle-class couple whose lives revolve around their shared dental practice, their three young daughters, their 10-year-old marriage and, in the time covered by the story, a communal case of the flu. When he starts to suspect that she's having an affair, his imagination goes into overdrive and an apparition in the form of an obnoxious patient (a seedy-looking Denis Leary) moves in to provide a cynical running commentary and a lot of unsolicited advice. Some of this is funny, but not all of it. Usually you can tell what's fantasy from what isn't, but not always. Mostly what you get is an intelligently crafted look at two ordinary people in all their complexity and imperfection, trying to muddle through a difficult time. It's Rudolph at his most accessible, a quiet celebration of marriage and raising kids as the most daunting, rewarding and heroic thing most of us will ever do. And watch your step, okay? One of the girls just threw up on the floor.