Rating: 
Summary: Where's the relief?
Review: You can't get Scarface here in America anymore. You can't get Midnight Run here either. But you can run right out today and buy two, count 'em, TWO different editions of "Patch Adams," one of which is a deluxe 2-disc set. If you need any more evidence that the world is a truly messed-up place... there it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Hack Pukems - Negative half-star
Review: How anyone could not see this movie for the forced, contrived, manipulative piece of trash that it is I'll never figure out. If I was lying in a hospital bed and some freak came into the room dressed as an angel or any of his other demented costumes and started pulling that crap, I'd be traumatized for life. It was like something out of Stephen King's "Misery". Except that unlike Annie Wilkes, Hack wasn't supposed to be scary. But he was. He really was! Talk about making a total mockery of the medical profession.Other highlights: - Hack, the so-called wholesome, amazing, super-dooper spectacular hero of the film ends up having a romantic love interest that looks about thirty years younger than him (of which they have absolutely no chemistry). Cradle robber. - The overly done "Feel Sorry for Hack" background music that strategically comes in at all the right places. - The ever immortal gem: "You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person I'll guarantee you'll win." Yes, that's just what people need to hear when they're bed-ridden and dying of some horrible disease. Don't give them the medicine they need, just make funny faces and act insane. That'll cheer 'em up! - How in general, the character gets rewarded for his overall buffoonery. *Cheer* has he torchers the immobile helpless. *Laud* as he embarasses the entire hospital by placing huge opened up women's legs on top of it (a scene truly for the whole family). *Gasp* as he uncovers the crooked medical establishment for what it really is. It's almost ironic when you think about it, but for a movie that purports itself to be so caring and heartful, it actually ends up accomplishing the opposite. It does everything it possibly can to exploit the ill and make the medical profession look like some sort of demon hellspawn. Ok, granted, most members of the medical professional might not be great comedians, but we can only be so thankful that they're not all bumbling monkeys like Pukems. If they were, the only thing we'd have a cure for is "old person lying comfortably in his/her bed and not being disturbed by some nutjob" syndrome. The really sad part is, I usually don't mind sentimental films. "Mrs. Doubtfire" had Williams, and it was genuine all the way through. It had heart. The same could be said of "The World according to Garp". But, this monstrosity. This soul-depleting ogre of a film. No...no...no.....it's sucking me into the vortex! The evil...the evil! On the bright side, Crotch would make an excellent horror movie villain. Rating: Negative half-star
Rating:
Summary: ENEMA BULB BLUES
Review: In PATCH ADAMS, the lead character takes to wearing an enema bulb as a clown nose. After viewing this film, I felt as if that bulb had been used for its intended purpose and quickly called for the usher to bring me a bedpan.
PATCH ADAMS is a dramedy, where comedic bits are woven into a morality play of good (Patch and his irresponsible zeal to make himself feel good) versus evil (the stodgy medical establishment that doesn't let anybody have fun before they die). You know that this film is going to be a real tearjerker. Unfortunately, writer Steve Oedekerk and director Tom Shadyac decide that they have to rip those tears straight from your tear ducts.
When we first encounter Hunter Adams (Robin Williams), he has voluntarily committed himself to a psychiatric hospital. Completely despondent and feeling suicidal, Adams begins to climb out of his abyss when he helps a fellow patient overcome his fear of invisible squirrels that block his way to the lavatory. Helping that fellow gives Adams such an ethereal high, he decides to leave the institution, acquires the nickname "Patch," and goes off to become a doctor.
Now at medical school, Patch finds that the business of medicine is somewhat autocratic, impersonal, and lacking a sense of humor. But "hey, I'm funny," cries Patch, so off he goes to bombard children with cancer with his own brand of humor---the enema bulb clown nose, tap-dancing with bedpans on his feet, and yukking it up better than the Three Stooges ever did.
That is essentially the lesson of PATCH ADAMS: laughter is the cure-all for society's ills. True enough, laughter can have beneficial effects on the human body. You laugh, forget the pain for a while, and your body rewards you kindly for not wallowing in misery. But PATCH ADAMS takes this notion to the extreme, completely disparaging the men and women who don the white coats and work hard trying to save human lives. PATCH ADAMS is not about saving anyone's life except Patch's. It is self-redemption, not self-sacrifice. Self-interest is one thing---who is going to begrudge a good physician his money? But Patch is like a parasite, needing to make people laugh in order to feel viable as a human being. This movie does not have as its thesis the need to help the patient. Patients that are helped are residual benefits. This movie is about Patch and only Patch, who uses those patients to inflate his own ego.
Automatically, we can see where this movie is going. There are no surprises here. We know Patch's irreverent sense of humor is going to clash with the Establishment---a group of doctors who all look the same and whose characterization by Oedekerk is about as deep as a coffee cup. When Patch meets fellow medical student Carin (Monica Potter) late in the game, we know, too, that they will fall in love with each other; but because of her late introduction and the sloppy writing and direction of this picture, we also know that this love story will have no happy ending.
But PATCH ADAMS is supposed to be a feel-good movie... We still haven't seen Patch go up against the Establishment.
...Back at school, Patch is faced with expulsion for practicing medicine without a license (which, by God, he is). This situation, much to my chagrin, sets up a quasi-courtroom scene in which Patch must defend himself before a board of examiners. Does Oedekerk not have an original thought in his head? PATCH ADAMS isn't a legal thriller, so why subject us to one of the worse movie cliches of all time?
...Patch delivers an egotistical rambling about how great he is and about how many people he has helped. As the board decides his fate, in march all those little kids with cancer whose hair has fallen out from chemotherapy and---gasp---they are wearing enema bulbs on their noses. ...
If Patch was as venerable a physician as he claimed to be ..., he would have sent those kids straight back to their hospital beds. The children have cancer with compromised immune systems. But no, Patch won't mind if one of them falls ill. He will just put on another enema bulb nose and make them laugh till they finally croak from their infection.
Due to box office popularity, I suspect the success of PATCH ADAMS is because the average moviegoer has no preconceptions about the film he is seeing. He just wants to be entertained. He's not looking for the formulas, the sorry stunts and cliches. He's not expecting dishonest filmmaking. Watch this movie once and you may buy its hullabaloo. Watch it again and you will probably find yourself wretching over the shameless attempt to manipulate the audience.
Overall, PATCH ADAMS is the perfect example of cinematic excess in both performance and technique. A few cheap laughs, a couple of tricks, and heavy formula make up this ill-brewed show. Supposedly based on a true story, perhaps the real Patch Adams has done some good and helped a number of people. Unfortunately, this movie about him cannot heal itself.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful movie that'll make you laugh and cry!
Review: 'Patch Adams' is a well done and highly entertaining movie through and through. The basic message of compassion for the sick, and getting to know your patient comes through in a big way, and the humorous scenes are funny as hell! Robin Williams is an American institution, and a wonderful actor as well. The movie is both touching and funny, and a joy to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A good movie with something to offer
Review: There are a lot of reviews for this film that accuse it of being overdramatized or presenting only one side of the conflict Patch had with the conventional practice of doctors. That is all fine and at least partially true, but I don't think it makes a bad movie. On overdramatization, I respond that this movie is, in fact, drama. Of course it is going to be more dramatic than real life - this should come as no shock to anyone ready to purchase the film. At no point does it extend into nor approach the realm of melodrama. There are also some problems with the romance. It is, get this, romantic. What audacity! Patch's advances are quite consistent with his character and with Neruda's poem: straightforward and without pride. It is not unbelievable that someone would read poetry to the woman he loves, and it is unfortunate that people find it so disturbing and laughable. The romance may not be typical - it may even be idealistic (gasp!) - but it fulfills its dramatic function well and in a consistent fashion.
As for the one-sided presentation, this is neither atypical nor surprising. It is the nature of most things with a theme. Patch Adams has a clear argument: it does not make its sympathies ambiguous like some movies may, and that is okay. Most intelligent viewers, and anyone willing to pursue the theme in their lives, will soon recognize that. And that it changed people's lives is not surprising either: it is idealistic. We should always pursue ideals, or at least have them in mind.
In the end, Patch Adams is a well-made movie that has a lot to offer people who are open to its message. It is a refreshing dose of idealism put the purpose of acheiving a practical, acheivable goal in the face of the cynical and jaded colleagues (much like some of the reviewers of this film!). It may not be wholly realistic, in spite of being based on a true story. But then, neither are many books whose themes we accept without doubting the plausability of the vehicle of that theme. That is the beauty of art - we can mix and amplify the real and the unreal, and let the one approximate the other to say what we want to say.
I will not comment on whether this movie is entertaining or not. It is not an insubstantial movie, and its theme is worthwhile, whether you agree with it or not. I invite anyone to watch this movie with their eyes open and minds working, to find its strengths without dwelling on its weaknesses, focusing on what it does say rather than how it says it, or what it fails to say.
Rating:
Summary: Very good for Pastos and Ministers
Review: Very inspiring, specially for those of us involved in the visitation of patients. It really gives us some perspective and some "soul" in the art of patient visitation. This is a "must", not only for future doctors, but also for future ministers, priests and rabbis.
Rating:
Summary: A Writhing Mammoth of Cheese -- Poncho Required
Review: It is a travesty that Amazon.com does not allow 0-stars as an option. Instead, I am saddled with the the false implication that I believe this movie deserves 1 star. This movie is so bad I believe the Big Nurses of the world will be using it as a torture device in nursing homes on old guys that ask for more milk with their corn flakes. It's embarrassing that there are people out there that regard watching this movie as a turning point in their life. I watched it with a girl who was crying by the end of it. I, on the other hand, sat in utter mortification at the monstrosity I had just endured. All the respect I had for Robin Williams as a result of his standup career and the brilliant ALLADIN was utterly demolished by the sick abortion that is PATCH ADAMS. It's awfulness is on the scale of a complex multidimensional matrix, thus it would take an entire book to render a just accounting of its abuses of taste and common sense. Only a repressed sadist could derive meaningful pleasure out of experiencing this leviathan of putrescence. Robin Williams' shameless smorgasborg of vomit-inducing cuteness and its fourth-quarter gambit of pretentious depth is an invaluable tool for anyone who wants to know of what a quintessentially terrible movie consists. Just because it was thought up in a brainstorming session doesn't mean a gag ought to be included in a movie. Every dollop of *fun* in this movie is an unfunny and tedious attempt to make the same sanctimonious point over and over: medicine is really about making people laugh, and anyone who doesn't believe that is the bad, bad enemy. Thus, the mentality celebrated in this movie is a mindset of total black and white; religious fanatics and zealots everywhere would feel right at home. Consequently, not only is the Robin Williams shtick totally boring after about --oh-- two minutes ("Look at me, I'm talking like John Wayne. Whee, aren't we having fun?"), the pretentious sanctimony and ludicrous profundity of the "plot" is totally insulting. Gushing cheeze, drippingly sentimental music, and dramatically phlegmatic appeals of the right to act stupidly and dress tackily is celebrated *over and over and over and over*.
Rating:
Summary: The Last 2 Scenes Are As Ridiculous As They Come!
Review: This was about a 3-star film for me until those final two scenes. Robin Williams is good as the title character here, although credibility is stretched way, way beyond the breaking point throughout this over-the-top production. While "based on a true story" (which is undeniable), it is simply impossible to believe that most of the mega-sappy, sentimental fare dished up by the movie-makers in this film is truly "the way it really happened". It's all way too pat. And getting back to those last 2 reels.....It's almost too hard to describe the lunacy of them [what with being doubled over from laughter]! As we near the climax of this outing with Robin, Patch's future as a doctor is in real jeopardy, as he is about to be expelled from medical school. His evaluation by the school's bigwigs to determine his fate at the University is a real hoot!! This scene was treated by the filmmakers with Perry Mason-type drama, complete with a massive courtroom with balconies, and literally hundreds of observers!! My question here would be: WHY would hundreds of strangers turn out in mass to find out if this guy is to continue with his education? Seems completely over-the-top. Looked more like a scene from the O.J. murder case! And the final nail in the coffin is the last scene, during which we get to witness Patch's bare hind quarters during graduation festivities! Why, oh why, would anyone do such a vulgar thing! Even the unorthodox Mr. Adams!! (Somebody, PLEASE tell me the real Patch didn't do this in this thing we refer to as "real life"!) Another thing that seems somewhat phony: Patch's age as he decides to start his medical career. Isn't age 46 a bit on the high side for beginning this journey? He'd be near 60 before he could start practice!! Why didn't the producers just put Bob Hope in the lead role?! Anyway, I'd check out Mrs. Doubtfire if you like a can't-miss Robin Williams vehicle. Doubtfire is without a doubt his best film.
Rating: 
Summary: confused
Review: love the movie but this dvd doesn't play right on my dvd player. I have to watch it on my ps2 instead.
Rating:
Summary: Patch Kevorkian
Review: "The horror! The horror!" as Marlon Brando once said in Apocalypse Now once said. These last words, summing up the carnage and absurdities of the Vietnam War parallel the emotional pornography doled out here with all the soulfulness of Agent Orange or a landmine. Although I am a fair weather Williams fan (I liked him in Good Morning, Vietnam), he is as relentlessly merciless in laying on the shmaltz. General Kilgore in Apocalypse Now was more subtle in his use of bullets on a Vietnamese village than Williams in his "message speeches." I'm sorry, being slapped in the face with a side of beef is more nuanced and humane than listening to speech after bleeding heart speech. By the end of the film, I was the one who wished I died, instead of the patients who were subject to the humor of this latter day Jerry Lewis of the gas chambers. Pretentious, pompous, and emotionally overwrought to the point of absurdity. Buy another movie like the Deer Hunter, at least that's funnier.
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