Open Wide

I have been reading and watching videos on this topic for a few years now. It's exciting that a documentary like this can bring the information to a wider audience. I sure wish Dr. Mew had treated me when I needed orthodontic help! I'd be a different person now. I was one of those typical kids with an overbite who had two top teeth pulled and the top teeth pushed back to fit my receding chin.

I really feel that being "ugly" has harmed many of my opportunities in life. I try not to spend time regretting it, and of course my true friends love me as I am, but I was constantly picked on as a child, looked down on as a teen, and am usually disregarded as an adult. I've never been married and I think I might have been if I were a bit prettier (not discounting the fact that many people more homely than I are happily married...so who knows?). Being ugly does a lot for your character, of course, and I wouldn't want to be extremely pretty either, but I'd like to be closer to average.

The sinus problems, mouth breathing, snoring, etc. Haven't been a great experience either. Thankfully I discovered mouth taping 8 years ago and noticed immediately that I felt more refreshed in the morning. Still not great, and I recently decided I should get tested for sleep apnea (hasn't happened yet). But the cool thing is that mouth taping at night retrained me to the point where I realized maybe 4 years ago that I don't mouth breathe during the day any more. My normal relaxed position now is with my mouth closed, which brings many benefits. Before, it was simply impossible to keep my mouth closed without thinking about it constantly, and it wasn't comfortable. I'm 58, but I can even tell that my teeth have shifted. I'm not sure yet where this will end up, but I'm not going back to mouth breathing! Now I need to get serious about learning to mew. I'll try the Mews' (fairly new) app on my phone when I get a chance.

This documentary was a complete waste of time. I was initially intrigued by the trailer and premise of looking at the Mews and their obscure treatments, but very little is told in the way of the history, practices, and their licensure. What is shown is disjointed and full of missing critical details to the point where I had to keep pausing to read up on what really happened. This is mostly bizarre and often irrelevant dialogue with the Mews, separately and together, with no real plot or ending. Save yourself the boredom and time and just spend a few minutes reading up on them, their history, and practices online.

I was attracted to this documentary by its preview, thinking it would have information and facts about orthodontistry vs. Orthotropics. I got 3/4 of the way through it and realized this film is about John Mew and Michael Mew, not about orthodontistry, the Mews' method of orthotropics or even the "mewing" trend. You'll hear opinions, opinions presented as facts and plenty of dissent but no actual facts or science about the practices and procedures at the center of this argument. Aside from mewing, I still don't know what exactly the standard practice in orthotropics is or what it involves. My best guess would be that it includes jaw and tongue "training" as opposed to standard orthodontic procedures, like fixed braces or surgery. But I'm still not sure and plan to do my own research since this doc didn't appear to do any. Imo, this is a film profiling John Mew and Michael Mew. This is not an educational documentary. Personally, I found the film to be a big bore. The banter between John and Michael wasn't entertaining or endearing to me and I wasn't interested in their personal lives in the slightest. Despite the presence of professional challenges, there was no background, information or explanation of what they were facing, so that didn't leave me with much. I had reached my threshold when a young patient's mother whipped out her ukulele and said she wrote a 7 minute long song and then proceeded to start strumming it that I switched to my K dramas. Unless you're a big fan of John or Michael Mew, I'd recommend skipping this film.

I have worked in the field of dentistry for over 20 years. This documentary was absolutely fascinating to me. I felt strongly compelled to write a review because I find it misleading & quite sad when reviewers watch a program that holds absolutely no interest for them and they feel the need to give it, a very disappointing one star. Why do that? There are a lot of quacks in the field of dentistry, orthodontics, any specialty. This documentary really gives you a behind the curtain at everything that's involved in correcting occlusion and the aesthetics of having a beautiful smile. I know that personally if I had not had orthodontia, I would not be the person I am now smiling all the time friendly to everyone I wouldn't of had the opportunities that I've had to work front desk at an office and greet patients. A lot of people who have slightly crooked teeth have perfectly healthy teeth, and a great life. For others it's a game changer and really lowers their quality of enjoyment of life. I'd love to see more documentaries about the subject of dentistry, obviously.

As "Open Wide" (2024 release from the UK; 108 min.) opens, we are introduced to John and Mike Mew, a father and son. We then go back in time as we learn of John's modest beginnings, and how he ended up in the field of orthodontics, and "experimenting" on his 3 young kids, including Mike, in the early 80s... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this documentary is the feature length directing debut of Sara Goldblatt. Here she does a deep dive into the controversy surrounding the orthodontists John and Mike Mew. Of course I had never heard of them, but we learn that their "mewing" technique to lift the jaw line. Strange as it may be, apparently "mewing" has gone viral. The problem with all this is that, regretfully, it doesn't make for a great movie experience, unless I suppose you are someone who is into orthodontics, I had never thought about it before watching this, but I guess I can now say with confidence that orthodontics is wasted on me.

"Open Wide" was released by A24, meaning not just some third rate movie studio. It started streaming on Netflix a few days ago, and Netflix had recommended it to me based on my viewing habits (lots of documentaries). Usually Netflix is quite on target with its recommendations, but alas not this time. Of course don't take my word for it, so if you have any interest in orthodontics (or you think you do), I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.