The Secret Lives of Dentists : I didn't get it…

I've seen this movie several times and I STILL don't understand. Did the wife cheat or not? How come the kids could see Gary? Was Gary fake? :S I'm so confused.

Whether she has had or is still having an affair is supposed to be unclear and never resolved (Campbell and the director confirm this on the DVD commentary). The story is about a relationship which has ceased to have any meaningful communication. They never directly discuss what is bothering them, even at the end.

What the writers did was to use dental issues as metaphors for marriage and life. The main one of these involved Gary Slater's wisdom teeth which were coming in all wrong. Even though they were giving him some problems he refused to get them pulled because they were not yet that bad, he was still able to ignore them. Likewise the marriage could go on as long as Dave avoids confronting and dealing with the suspected affair.

Other than Dave, Stephanie (the middle child) sees the fantesy Slater (along with Laura) in her flu fever delirium. She orders her dad's ghosts to leave ("it's my house") which causes her father to cease the Slater stuff (which is a manifestation of his passive-agressive personality) soon after.

I like your post aimless, but I must disagree with you on one issue: I thought it was very clear that the wife was certainly cheating on Dave. She does appear to acknowledge this during the "confrontation" at the end, besides there were enough signs without explainations from her to warrant the conclusion that she indeed going behind his back. I do agree however that it is not clear whether she intends to carry on with the affair from that point on. Also I agree that the film is much deeper than people appear to be giving it credit for.



P.S. does anyone else think that movie Primer is awful??

Ahh. I'm still confused but not as bad! Thanks yall:)


FEVE-UHtill ya sizzlelol!

Don't forget the youngest child seeing Slater also: "nobody asked you, slimebucket" or whatever she says to him.

I didn't see the DVD commentary, but if they mean for the existence of an affair to be unclear, then the line "I don't want to know who it is" sure seems awkward and pointless.


fear can stop your love; love can stop your fear.

well the line, "I dont want to know who it is" was simply Dave's long-term suspicion that his wife was cheating.It was his frustration coming to a head. She never acknowledges that it was true although her silence to the line did make it seem so.

I don't think the middle child saw Slater. She was telling Megan to go away who is mentioned later.

I just saw the movie and have not heard the DVD comments.

But it is obvious to me that his wife was having an affair, the way she answered his question whether to stay or leave (and of course the other signs).

Whether the girl saw Slater or not is not clear to me. I don't think she did. Sometimes it is not absolutely clear in this movie where fantasy can be detached from reality.

Or did Dave imagine his daughter telling Slater off the same way he was imagining Slater to begin with?

It's unclear. Probably intentionally.

It's interesting how the children interact with the figments of David's imagination. First Leah (the smallest one) with Slater and then Stephanie (the middle one) with Laura, whom she calls "Megan" - but I'm not sure if she's actually referring to Laura when she asks David to "tell Megan to go away". There's no Megan. She could be hallucinating.

So it really is very unclear and left up to the viewer. He may have imagined his daughter saying it, or it could have been "real", but either way it emphasizes how Leah and David share a relationship different than all the other girls (and even his wife).

Actually, my bad.

"Megan" is a character mentioned by the oldest girl as they eat dinner about 40 minutes into the film.

That means the only one who responds to David's figments of imagination (if she really does) is the youngest one.

It's pretty clear that Slater is David's alternate personality.