The Doctor (1991)

Jack McKee is a doctor with it all: he's successful, he's rich, and he has no problems.... until he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Now that he has seen medicine, hospitals, and doctors ... See full summary »

Director:

Randa Haines

Writers:

Ed Rosenbaum (book), Robert Caswell (screenplay)

Stars:

William Hurt, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth Perkins

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Hurt	...	Dr. Jack MacKee
Christine Lahti	...	Anne MacKee
Elizabeth Perkins	...	June Ellis
Mandy Patinkin	...	Dr. Murray Kaplan
Adam Arkin	...	Dr. Eli Blumfield
Charlie Korsmo	...	Nicky MacKee
Wendy Crewson	...	Dr. Leslie Abbott
Bill Macy	...	Dr. Al Cade
J.E. Freeman	...	Ralph
William Marquez	...	Mr. Maris
Kyle Secor	...	Alan
Nicole Orth-Pallavicini	...	Sarah
Ping Wu	...	Jay-Jay
Tony Fields	...	Roger
Brian Markinson	...	Michael

Storyline

Jack McKee is a doctor with it all: he's successful, he's rich, and he has no problems.... until he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Now that he has seen medicine, hospitals, and doctors from a patient's perspective, he realises that there is more to being a doctor than surgery and prescriptions.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | hospital | medical school | doctor patient relationship | surgeon | 

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Taglines:

An Uplifting Story About Finding New Meaning In Life.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 July 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le docteur

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$38,120,905 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Silver Screen Partners IV, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is based on the real life story of Ed Rosenbaum, M.D. Dr. Rosenbaum wrote an autobiography entitled "A Taste of My Own Medicine: When the Doctor Becomes the Patient". This book formed the basis for the movie and is presently out-of-print.

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Quotes

[regarding Dr. Blumfield, who believes unconscious patients can still hear]
Dr. Jack MacKee: Where E.N.T. meets E.S.P.!

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Connections

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Big Girls Don't Cry"
Written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe
Performed by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Courtesy of Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli
dba The Four Seasons Partnership

User Reviews

Well worth the price of a box of hankies.

It's not unusual in Hollywood for 2 studios to be working on similar projects at the same time. One obvious example might be Milos Forman's beautiful Valmont, and Stephen Frear's certainly adequate Dangerous Liaisons. The latter featured a ‘bigger' cast by American standards, and did better business, not surprisingly.

About the same time as Randa Haines' beautiful, ‘The Doctor', with William Hurt was delivered, so was Mike Nichols ‘Regarding Henry', starring Harrison Ford. Again, the latter did bigger business, and as a result I feel this film was largely overlooked.

On first look, The Doctor seems a standard tale: icy, successful surgeon finds out what medicine is really like when the tables are turned and he is diagnosed with throat cancer. His redemptive arc is somewhat predictable, as he reconnects with family, redefines his medical practice, and restructures his relationship with his similarly icy partners.

But it's under these, predictable circumstances that a true craftsman like Ms. Haines can make the ordinary extraordinary. The film is genuinely heartfelt and touching, resisting at every turn any self-indulgence, or the gratuitous pulling at heartstrings, relying on a quiet, confidence, a softer emotion instead.

Not that it's not weepy at times.

Hurt has never been better in the title role. Elizabeth Perkins as his soul-mate cancer victim is equally superb.