Andy Sargentee’s (Jeff Bridges) friends will follow him just about anywhere. The small town neighborhood bar stalwart has had more get-rich schemes in his life then Lindsay Lohan has had traffic stops, and while each and every one of them hasn’t exactly worked out the way he planned that hasn’t stopped any of the guys from going along with his plan all the same.

Jeff Bridges and Lauren Graham in First Look Features' The Amateurs

Andy’s latest idea might just be his best ever. He and his pals, Barney (Tim Blake Nelson), Otis (William Fichtner), Otis (Ted Danson), Emmett (Patrick Fugit), Moe (John Hawkes) and Some Idiot (Joe Pantoliano), are going to make an independent porno starring members of their close-knit community. The problem is they’re incredibly bad at it, and the more things they try to do the more they keep inadvertently throwing obstacles right in front of their very own faces.

The independent comedy The Amateurs is a rocky ride, this Full Monty wannabe treading a considerable amount of water before finally hitting its stride in an amusingly silly and surprisingly emotional final stretch. Writer and director Michael Traeger cribs from a variety of sources and paints a sitcom-like façade that at times becomes more than a bit unbearable. Thankfully he’s got a keen eye for casting, his crew of seasoned stars both big and small more than up to the challenge of making this slight and familiar comedy far more endearing and hysterical than it probably has any right to be.

Speaking of the actors, this is the best part seasoned veteran Fichtner has had in ages, while Danson skewers his Cheers persona so thoroughly he might not ever be able to live what he does here down. On the female side of the coin, Glenne Headly, Lauren Graham, Judy Greer and Jeanne Tripplehorn all acquit themselves nicely, relative newcomer Melinda Dahl almost stealing the picture right out from under all of them thanks to a deliriously riotous school girl act with three men in a smoothie shop.

But the film beginning to end belongs to Bridges, and while his Andy Sargentee is probably a character he could play in his sleep that doesn’t make what he does here any less sublime. Still one of the very best actors working today, he can elevate a picture, no matter how banal or idiotic (save maybe the horrifically awful Blown Away), pretty much all on his lonesome. His work here is no exception, and if only for a scene in a department store where he tries to haggle over the price of a basketball watching Bridges work is pretty much an out and out joy.

 And that’s pretty much all there is to say. This isn’t a movie that will change your life and it goes without saying viewers will pretty much forget most of what went on before they even step outside the theater. But for an evening DVD rental or a mid-afternoon matinee you could certainly do a heck of a lot worse, The Amateurs if nothing else a pleasantly amusing time passer indiscriminating viewers will undoubtedly enjoy.

Film Rating: êê1/2  (out of 4)

Additional Links:

-  The Amateurs Theatrical Trailer