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6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Dentist remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a thing for vintage slapstick or if you’re a massive W.C. Fields fan. If you need a cohesive plot or characters who aren't just one-dimensional jerks, skip this. It’s a messy, loud, and weirdly aggressive little short that feels more like a series of violent gags than a real story. 🦷
The whole thing is basically Fields being a menace in a white coat. He’s mean to his staff, he’s mean to his patients, and he’s clearly having a miserable day. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Way Out West, though this is way more contained and way more focused on people just getting hit in the face.
There’s this one scene where he’s trying to extract a tooth, and he basically has to climb onto the patient like he’s wrestling a bear. It’s physically exhausting just to watch. You can tell they were really going for that exaggerated, cartoonish violence that was huge back in the day.
It’s not subtle. At all. Sometimes it feels like the movie is just waiting for the next person to walk through the door so Fields can find a new way to be insufferable.
It definitely lacks the heart you might find in something like Freckles, but that’s clearly not what it’s going for. It’s just pure, unfiltered annoyance turned into entertainment. Some people will find it hilarious, but others might just feel bad for the poor folks in the dentist chair.
It’s barely a movie, really. It’s more of a long, loud sketch. But for what it is, it hits the mark if you’re in the right mood for some vintage grumpiness. 🤷♂️