Patch Adams (1998)

The true story of a heroic man, Hunter "Patch" Adams, determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. He ventured where no doctor had ventured before, using humour and pathos.

Director:

Tom Shadyac

Writers:

Patch Adams (book) (as Hunter Doherty Adams), Maureen Mylander (book)

Stars:

Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Patch Adams
Daniel London	...	Truman
Monica Potter	...	Carin
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Mitch
Bob Gunton	...	Dean Walcott
Josef Sommer	...	Dr. Eaton
Irma P. Hall	...	Joletta
Frances Lee McCain	...	Judy
Harve Presnell	...	Dean Anderson
Daniella Kuhn	...	Adelane
Peter Coyote	...	Bill Davis
James Greene	...	Bile
Michael Jeter	...	Rudy
Harold Gould	...	Arthur Mendelson
Bruce Bohne	...	Trevor Beene

Storyline

Patch Adams is determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. Unfortunately, the medical and scientific community does not appreciate his methods of healing the sick, while the actual patients, medical professors, and hospital nurses all appreciate the work *he* can do, because they are unable to do it.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | man wears eyeglasses | doctor | hospital | nurse | 

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Taglines:

Based On A True Story.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language and crude humor

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the film's producers, Mike Farrell, met the real Patch Adams when Adams served as an advisor to the TV series M*A*S*H (1972), in which Farrell played B.J. Hunnicutt, one of the Army doctors.

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Goofs

At the Gesundheit Institute, one of the patients is watching the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup. But the audio track doesn't match the portion of the film shown on the television screen.

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Quotes

Mitch Roman: This isn't a game to me! This isn't play time! This is serious business!

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Crazy Credits

The Blue Wolf Productions logo after the end credits features a wolf looking to its left.

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Connections

Spoofed in The Auteur (2008)

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Soundtracks

Only You Know and I Know
Written by Dave Mason
Performed by Dave Mason
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Special Markets

User Reviews

Devastating and joyful all at the same time

Robin Williams had so much joy in this, its so wonderful and heartwarming! Quite a few bleak characters and things that could have been avoided, otherwise I'd give it a 10. Excessive happiness should be fine, I don't understand why there's a boss that is a Debbie Downer, yeah ok he's serious about his job, but lacking sense of humor that is important for patients to enjoy. This is a powerful film and makes me bummed that Robin Williams is gone!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Patch Adams

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,262,280, 27 December 1998

Gross USA:

$135,026,902

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$202,292,902

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Blue Wolf Productions, Farrell/Minoff

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1