Patch Adams (1998) [Movie Review]


Dir: Tom Shadyac
Starring: Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Philip Hoffman, Bob Gunton
Dur: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Inspirational Drama
PG: A Few Kisses
Rating: 7/10

This is a great film based on the book Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter written by Dr Patch Adams and Maureen Mylander. It documents the real story of Hunter “Patch” Adams who goes from being an inmate at a mental institution to being a beloved doctor who believes that medicine is a vocation and not a profession. His ideas and methods got him and those who surrounded him into a lot of trouble but ultimately also brought about better results. The story is indeed inspiring and proved to be all the more poignant since the lead role was played by none other than Robin Williams, a great comedian and actor whose life much like that of Patch consisted of lots of fun and laughter but hid a deep wound.


I think that every medical student and doctor ought to watch this film although it is quite old. It showcases values that are universal and unbound by time. It speaks of the value of the patient, of diagnosis as not being simply a clinical, cold procedure but one that takes the patient into account and lots more that I don’t want to say here lest I spoil it for those who will go on to watch this wonderful film. It ironic, as I pointed out earlier, that Robin Williams plays a doctor who uses humour to alleviate his patient’s troubles. Robin was one who did the same sans the medical help. But while the story of Patch ended quite happily, Robin’s did not. Nevertheless, the film is a groundbreaker. I can imaging the impact it must have made at the time of its release.

Although it received negative reviews from critics it turned into a box office success and if you see the film you’ll know why. Even Dr. Adams didn’t have a nice word for the film. He was unhappy that the film reduced him to a comedian-doctor and used only those parts of his life that would help them make a commercial profit. Frankly, the story isn’t all that great however it is riddled with great messages. The tragedy seems a bit disconnected and haphazard and so does the build up. But that doesn’t take away much from the spirit the film exudes. What’s great about this is that it is founded on reality and that for me makes all the difference.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Grand Masti 2 (2016) (Movie Review)

Image
Dir: Indra Kumar Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela Dur: 2 hrs 10 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 1/10 Comment: The jokes, gestures and costumes are sexually suggestive. An absolute waste of time. “What an opening line”, you might think. But to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. This film is in fact, a great grand waste of time. It’s horrible whichever way you look at it. The story is weak and thrives on cheap thrills and sorry jokes. The actresses are no doubt eye-catching but the rest is all a blur. The comedy is in fact tragedy and the film attempts to play on the basest desires of man. It’s unbelievable that actors like Riteish and Vivek would do such a film. I am not a big fan of bollywood but I still feel bad when I see bollywood making films like these. All of a sudden, I see that sex is being propagated through Indian cinema. The views of sex are changing and filmmakers and actors are not hesitating to take on unconvent...
Read more

A Day with Don Bosco

                              Don Bosco was declared the Patron of Youth by Pope John Paul II in 1989. He received his mission: to be Father to the young, in a dream at the tender age of nine. He nurtured this call throughout his life and never wasted an opportunity to gather boys and direct them to God. He did not do this as a spiritual director, (at least no at first!) but rather as a friend, a companion and a seminarian. As a young boy, he would attract youngsters with his magic tricks, tightrope skills, games etc and then get them to recite the rosary with him or recount to them the Sunday sermon (which he remembered thanks to his prodigious memory). Already then, he had ingeniously found a way to combine religion and entertainment. His entertainment was necer for entertainment sake but rather a façade or an advertisment for religious instruction. Even as a young pries...
Read more

St. Joseph: A Father after the Father's Heart (Book Review)

Image
  St. Joseph: A Father after the Father’s Heart , Hyderabad: Don Bosco Publishing House, 2021, Rs. 150, pp. 240. The book is a compilation of articles from various authors writing about qualities of St. Joseph. They have used the litany of St. Joseph as an index and have put together articles on each of the invocations. All the contributors are Salesians from different parts of India but there a couple of contributors from abroad as well. The book lends itself to be a souvenir of the Year of St. Joseph that Pope Francis declared. Let me start out by commenting on the quality of production. The paper is of good quality and so is the design and layout. It is neat and has an attractive cover. Coming to the content, it gets rather repetitive but that is understandable considering that there is so little Biblical foundation for an exposition of St. Joseph. The articles often reference Pope Francis’ letter Patris Corde and extensively utilize Pope St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhort...
Read more