poster boy for co-dependency needs patching patch adams a film review by michael redman copyright 1999 by michael redman mediocrity is a pox on civilization . in our heavily consumer oriented society , there is an enormous demand to churn out " stuff . " what would happen to our economy if we didn't feel the need to have more things ? to make us buy more , businesses need to produce a ton of product . the sheer volume of items necessitates that most of them are of dubious quality . the film industry is like any other . in order for studios to survive , they have to make money . the prevailing attitude is that more films equal more profit . some movies obviously exist only to put wares on the screen and to do that , less talented people are used . there aren't enough great directors and actors to create the number of films necessary . for some reason , it's never crossed anyone's mind that the real equation is quality films = more profit . often , mediocre films are more of a pain for the audience than the horrendous ones . at you can have a good time making fun of bad movies . i'm not suggesting that " patch adams " was tossed out just to rake in the bucks . my guess is that someone was asleep at the wheel . it features an accomplished actor and a potentially engrossing story , but <NEG> it's as dull as could be </NEG> . hunter " patch " adams' ( robin williams ) desire to become a doctor has an unusual genesis . checking himself into a mental institute after a suicide attempt , he discovers that he can help the other patients by clowning around . patch could be a poster boy for co-dependency . he explains that he likes devoting himself to others because then he doesn't focus on his own problems . he decides that he wants to be a physician , leaves the place and a couple of years later enrolls in the medical college of virginia . as a med student , patch's antics at the school's hospital catch the attention of his soon to be arch-enemy , straight-laced dean walcott ( bob gunton ) . the dean is so opposed to the goofiness that he wants patch kicked out of school although he's one of the top students . he writes in patch's academic file that he shows " excessive happiness . " i walked into the film knowing little about its history and wondered about its odd mechanical pacing . there also seemed to be no reason that it is set in the early seventies . then it struck me . it must be based on a true story . the movie is an adaptation of a book by hunter adams who founded the gesundheit institute , a free clinic . robin williams is an amazing actor . while he is adept at dramatic roles , his forte is over-the-top free spirits . that's what makes <NEG> his failure here </NEG> so remarkable . patch is exactly the character he should be best at , yet even the scene where he and another mental patient are battling fierce imaginary squirrels <NEG> falls flat </NEG> . <NEG> something holds him back . most of the rest of the cast is two-dimensional </NEG> . for a film that champions seeing patients as human beings , it's curious that <NEG> the ones here are cardboard characters </NEG> . peter coyote as a man dying of cancer is refreshing because he seems like a real person . <NEG> unfortunately </NEG> he's in the film for only about two minutes . the audience is <NEG> blatantly lead by a ring in its nose from scene to scene </NEG> . we're not left to our own emotional decisions : <NEG> we're hit over the head with them </NEG> . shaved-headed children with cancer , an elderly woman whom patch makes laugh , a beautiful woman who can't love because of her abusive history . when a group of students fix up an old house to use as a clinic in the andy hardy " hey , let's put on a play ! we can use the barn and my mom can make the curtains ! " mode , they laugh and roll around while painting each other . there might as well be giant signs flashing : " feel good now ! " " feel bad now ! " " patch " is a good title for the film . <NEG> it is a patchwork of every manipulative scene you can think of </NEG> . the full-of-life student fights stodgy establishment types . there's a touching death . then there's another . the film doesn't trust us to get it the first time . the dean tries to kick patch out and later he tries again . <NEG> worst of all is </NEG> the final courtroom bit . scary-looking old men sit in judgment of a man who only wants to help people . the room is packed with patch's supporters . williams makes <NEG> a supposedly impassioned speech </NEG> about the humanity of all . it has as much emotion as his earlier statement " humans are the only animal that kills members of its own species " contains truth . <NEG> most of the blame must be placed </NEG> with the director tom shadyac and screenwriter steve oedekerk . shadyac also directed the first " ace ventura " movie . oedekerk directed the second one . need i say more ? the real adams is to be admired for his devotion to treating patients as people rather than diseases . the film has a number of worthy messages about the state of the modern medical business with hmos and managed care . the " doctors are not gods " theme will resonate with a number of people , but <NEG> it's so poorly produced that no one will care </NEG> .
