Vital Signs (1990)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Marisa Silver

Writers (WGA):

Larry Ketron (story)
Larry Ketron (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 April 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

During one incredible year, seven friends discover that love is alive and living in the 90's.

Plot:

This movie follows the lives of medical students who are in their third year, which is the time that...

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Ambulance | Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman | Medical

Cast

Adrian Pasdar	...	Michael Chatham
Diane Lane	...	Gina Wyler
Jack Gwaltney	...	Kenny Rose
Laura San Giacomo	...	Lauren Rose
Jane Adams	...	Suzanne Maloney
Tim Ransom	...	Bobby Hayes
Bradley Whitford	...	Dr. Donald Ballentine
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Bobby
William Devane	...	Dr. Chatham
Norma Aleandro	...	Henrietta Walker
Jimmy Smits	...	Dr. David Redding
Wallace Langham	...	Gant
James Karen	...	Dean of Students
Leigh C. Kim	...	Dr. Chen
Enid Kent	...	Vivian

Runtime:

Germany:99 min | USA:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:L | Germany:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center - 1200 N. State Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Quotes:

Dr. David Redding: Third year is like being a rookie pitcher called on to pitch the seventh game of the World Series... blindfolded.

Soundtrack:

The Birds and the Bees

An 80s drama? A really bad dream? Punishment for a crime? No it's Vital Signs!

I can just picture Larry Ketron sitting in a producers office pitching this film. "We'll use a bad 80s medical drama as our base line.We'll get a director with no experience and no talent, a cast that could have been rejected from "The Hightes" and stick Jimmy Smits right in the middle of it just for fun." Vital Signs makes scrubs look serious by comparison. The pacing of this film is so slow that at times it feels longer than all the Lord of the Rings movies put together. I have seen Italian operas that felt shorter then this movie. It's partially the director, Marisa Silver's fault. Hey Marisa, can you say An Alan Smithee film? The film looked like it was cut with a chain saw, and it was incredibly disjointed. I don't know if the writer of this movie was UN-knowledgeable or just didn't care about facts, but the factual errors in this movie would have ruined it had it been filled with the greatest actors on earth. The movie is about 3rd year med students, but they are doing things that only residents and attendings can do. Pluse why is everyone referring to these students as "Doctor"? They aren't doctors! Far worse however is the acting. This cast has shown up to do one thing, and that is collect their pay checks. When Jimmy Smits is the most talented man on the team, you know you are in trouble. Diane Lane is good to look at, but that's about the best I can say for anyone in the movie. Even her one love scene, though hot, comes at the wrong time in the film, thanks again to our friend the editor. I bet this is the film on which William Devane finally realized his career was over. I rented this movie for .25 cents from the video store down the street, and I am thinking of asking for my money back.