The Door in the Floor

2004 drama

Rating: 13/20

Plot: A writer and his wife, following a tragedy, decide to separate for a while, mostly because she won't let him put in a swimming pool. A young intern comes along and starts masturbating all over the place.

This was recommended by my friend Josh. Even though it was a while ago, I'm pretty sure that he told me it was funny. It's based on a John Irving book with a hilarious-sounding title--A Widow for One Year. And it's a movie about how stories are capable of keeping not only people alive but also trauma and tragedy. Sounds like uproariously funny material, right?

The strange thing is that this does have humor. Jeff Bridges' character, more than a little full of himself, is the kind of comic character you might find in a Noah Baumbach movie. He gets to talk about his penis with a child. He gets to act like a guy who is acting like an artist. The fruits of his labors, when we finally get to see them, made me laugh out loud, by the way. He gets lines like "For a child, I imagine seeing it done doggishly must seem especially animalistic." He gets a chance to be angry, screaming "Leave it!" when his intern/driver tries to turn off a hip hop song about licking pussies and cracks that he says he loves. And he gets to wear a ridiculous floppy hat. Bridges is so good here playing this character who you kind of want to hate right from the beginning. And I'm telling you--nobody drinks like Jeff Bridges, that rapid wrist flicking tip. You know the move I'm talking about, right?

Basinger's performance is a little more one dimensional. She plays somebody who is grieving, and while I guess that's believable, I wish there was a little more going on with the character. She spends most of the movie being breathy and lifeless, occasionally tossing in some sultriness.

Four standout moments for me:

1) A mention of Air Jordans. It fits thematically, but it also feels like it could be the most inappropriate product placement in movie history.

2) A masturbation scene where the intern, after covering up children's exposed feet in a photograph of Basinger, is nearly busted.

3) A piece of Bridges' character's artwork finding its way to a windshield.

4) The final shot which may or may not involve an actual door in a floor.

A question, without getting too spoilery: Bridges makes a reference to the intern looking like one of the sons. What's the point of that? Should I have been less disturbed than I was?