Doc Hollywood

I have to laugh at all the comments on this board which say this movie's plot or the characters are not "plausible".

I live near the town this movie was shot in, (I was an extra for one day, and a "stand in" for two days on this film. It was neat!) and believe me, the characters are not only believable, you can meet versions of them in small towns all through the south.

There is a big difference between city and deep country life. Maybe people in very urban areas and countries tend to forget that. Quite honestly, I know several people down here in the boonies who make the folk of "Grady" look downright sophisticated.

That criticism shot down, I just have to say it's a really sweet film. It has a lot of atmosphere and some good character development, even in the minor roles. It portrays small, small town America pretty accurately and with a great deal of charm.

The title immediately put me off. The star, Michael J Fox immediately put me off. But once I got past those 2 major obstacles and settled in, I found a little gem of a movie.

Fox's young doctor, all full of spit and vinegar, sets off across country to medical nirvana: a highly sought position in a prestigious Beverly Hills plastic surgery practice. On the way, Doc Hollywood is waylaid in definitive small town USA, Grady Ga. on the cusp of the annual squash festival.

Am I boring you? Likely, but this film is never boring, a character driven comedy with superlative performances in each and every nook and cranny-particularly David Ogden Stiers (no Maj Winchester here) and Barnard Hughes. Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda have smallish parts. Even George Hamilton is bearable in a cameo.

Liked it so much, I headed out to find director Michael Caton-Jones previous effort, Memphis Belle.

"Doc Hollywood" is an excellent film and very well done. The comedy is very good throughout the film and the characters are all very interesting. I personally, love small towns like the one depicted in the film.

The cast in this film is very good as well. Michael J. Fox is excellent as always and rakes in a good amount of laughs in the film. Julie Warner is an excellent love interest for the film and looks fantastic in the film. Bridget Fonda looks better than ever and does a great job acting. Woody Harrelson does a fine job with his role, and plays a particularly interesting character. David Ogden Stiers plays a very likeable town mayor and does an incredible job with his role. The rest of the supporting cast is very good as well. Director, Michael Caton-Jones, adds another fine film to his list of films.

I also feel I should mention the music in the film. I thought all the music was very likeable and very good choices. I especially like the title sequence and the song (I have no idea who the song is written/performed by).

This is just a feel-good, fun movie. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone that likes stories about the small town lifestyle and romantic comedies. I hope that you enjoy the film as much as I did. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

I didn't like Doc Hollywood the first time I saw it in 1991 --- then I watched it again a few years ago and was blown away by the writing, acting and all-around sweet nature of the film.

Dr. Ben Stone is leaving DC for a job doing plastic surgery for celebs in LA when he runs into a picket fence in a small Southern town and has to do 3 days of community service at their clinic as penance. His fancy sports car is totaled anyway and he has to get it fixed. Miffed at being waylaid in such a hokey place, he tries to get through the next few days in time for his new job.

He meets a wide cast of characters -- and to their credit, not everyone in a small town is so gosh-friendly. Some are mean, some are troubled, some are nice -- like any other array of people. Ben meets Lou, a single mother who drives the ambulance, as well as Nancy Lee Nicholson, a confused beauty who wants him to take her to LA.

This movie is great because it is about many people deciding for themselves how they want to live -- whether in a big city or in a small town -- and why they value what they do. It is also about an epiphany for Ben Stone and changing of his ways internally.

No surprises. No twisted plots. No complex love triangles. This movie is pure and simple entertainment. Okay, it's hokey and it's trite, and the acting at times is marginally acceptable. But it goes with the terrain, for this is America, this is life, this is real people.

It's a nice movie. See it. Don't expect much, but do expect to enjoy it.