Doc Hollywood (1991)

A young doctor on his way across the country to a job interview crashes his car in a small town and is sentenced to work for several days at the town hospital.

Director:

Michael Caton-Jones

Writers:

Neil B. Shulman (book) (as Neil B. Shulman M.D.), Laurian Leggett (adaptation)

Stars:

Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Barnard Hughes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Fox	...	Dr. Ben Stone
Julie Warner	...	Lou
Barnard Hughes	...	Dr. Aurelius Edsel Hogue
Woody Harrelson	...	Hank Gordon
David Ogden Stiers	...	Mayor Nick Nicholson
Frances Sternhagen	...	Lillian - Welcoming Committee
George Hamilton	...	Doctor Halberstrom
Bridget Fonda	...	Nancy Lee Nicholson
Mel Winkler	...	Melvin - Mechanic
Helen Martin	...	Maddie - Welcoming Committee
Roberts Blossom	...	Judge Evans
Tom Lacy	...	Deputy Cotton
Macon McCalman	...	Aubrey Draper
Raye Birk	...	Simon Tidwell - First Patient
Eyde Byrde	...	Nurse Packer

Storyline

Benjamin Stone is a young doctor driving to L.A., where he is interviewing for a high-paying job as a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. He gets off the highway to avoid a traffic jam, but gets lost and ends up crashing into a fence in the small town of Grady. He is sentenced to 32 hours of community service at the local hospital. All he wants is to serve the sentence, get his car fixed and get moving, but gradually the locals become attached to the new doctor, and he falls for the pretty ambulance driver, Lou. Will he leave?

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | hospital | small town | community service | car accident | 

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Taglines:

He's a big city plastic surgeon... in a small town that doesn't take plastic.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doc Hollywood

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,251,854, 4 August 1991

Gross USA:

$54,830,779

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First collaboration between Director Michael Caton-Jones and Composer Carter Burwell. The last movie they did together was The Jackal (1997).

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Goofs

In the beginning of film, during titles, Stone is driving and stops in traffic. He is wearing a dark brown jacket, but as he stands up to view traffic the jacket has disappeared.

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Quotes

Vialula: I'm going for breakfast, you want anything?
Nurse Packer: mmm-hmmm, how about Bob Barker?
Vialula: [snorts] I'll see what I can do.

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Alternate Versions

For its reruns on the Nine Network in Australia, four scenes have been edited: -The line "I'm so fucked" was removed, and so was all following dialogue in the court scene. -In the dream scene, they cut a silhouette of Julie Warner nude, where one nipple was visible. -They cut most shots of Julie Warner nude after emerging from the lake, to remove the sight of her bare breasts. -They cut the line "Now I'm sending him to Athens General. You're his regular fucking doctor, you get your fat ass out of bed, get down there and go with him." Presumably this is because it is usually shown as an afternoon movie and such a scene is not appropriate for this time of day. A detailed comparison of the uncut version and the edited version can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m020R8pdis

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Connections

Referenced in Community: Beginner Pottery (2010)

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Soundtracks

Buck's Nouvelle Jole Blon
Written by Buckwheat Zydeco (as Stanley Durol Jr.)
Performed by Buckwheat Zydeco
Courtesy of Black Top Records Inc.

User Reviews

Michael J. Fox Country Charmer!

When future film critics decide to analyze the career of Michael J. Fox, they will likely say his talents were best suited to television, with an acknowledgement that he did star in the BACK TO THE FUTURE series. This will be a shame, as Fox has been an ingratiating, very enjoyable actor to watch, in most of his films, and DOC HOLLYWOOD is one of his best roles.

As breezy, fast-talking Washington, D.C. surgeon Dr. Ben Stone, who dreams of making big money doing plastic surgery in Hollywood, but finds his true calling as a general practitioner in a small southern hamlet, Fox is so 'right' that you can't imagine any other actor in the role. After a minor traffic accident enroute to California forces him to do 'public service' in fictional Grady, South Carolina, taking on much of the workload of a crusty old local physician (the always enjoyable Barnard Hughes), Stone becomes the 'talk' of the town, and rustic but wise Mayor Nick Nicholson (David Ogden Stiers, in one of his most engaging performances), starts 'selling' the joys of country life to the cosmopolitan young doctor. A quilt with 'magical' powers provides a nude vision of the girl he's destined to love, 'Lou' (Julie Warner), who turns out to be working at his office; his hormone-fueled pursuit of her, and her pragmatic 'indifference' to his flirtations make their gradual romance edgy and fun to watch.

In a town full of colorful characters, two 'stars in the making' stand out; Woody Harrelson, as 'Lou's' suitor, Hank Gordon, a country variation of his bartending character from 'Cheers', talks dumb but has a knack for selling, only lacking a place to make big money at it; and Bridget Fonda, as Mayor Nicholson's oversexed but 'out of place' daughter, hopes Stone will take her away to the bright lights of Hollywood. Both stars are terrific in their supporting roles, and show the charisma that would lead them to stardom.

DOC HOLLYWOOD is full of charming vignettes, from Stone vicariously reading the mail for an illiterate farm couple, to being paid for services rendered with a rather large pig, who ultimately becomes his 'pet'. The film abounds in warm comic touches that are guaranteed to bring a smile!

With a very funny cameo by George Hamilton, as the Hollywood plastic surgeon Stone dreams of working with, DOC HOLLYWOOD hits all the right notes for a terrific entertainment. My only complaint about the film is that it was actually filmed in Florida; as a South Carolina resident, I can attest that MANY of our small towns could have doubled quite nicely for Grady...

DOC HOLLYWOOD is a film I'm proud to have in my collection!