moonspinner55 San Francisco surgeon--irrepressible in the operating room, inappropriately 'cute' around his sick patients, and a stranger to his wife and child--discovers he has a cancerous growth on his vocal chords. Screenwriter Robert Caswell, adapting the book "A Taste of My Own Medicine" by Ed Rosenbaum, M.D., clumsily sets the tone for this drama in his opening sequence: while performing an operation, doctor William Hurt clears his throat roughly, causing fellow medic Mandy Patinkin to look up with concern. This telegraphs the audience (in a puny, melodramatic way) that's something amiss, however the scope of the piece does improve tremendously in the picture's second act. The characters are not immediately clear, and the performances by Hurt, Christine Lahti (as his neglected spouse), and Elizabeth Perkins (as a cancer patient) suffer as a result. Hurt, in particular, is hard to get a grip on for the first two-thirds; for a film about personal redemption, he certainly takes his time learning to grow. Sub-plots regarding Hurt's relationship with his son, his friendship with Perkins, and a malpractice suit generally fare quite poorly, yet director Randa Haines knows exactly where she wants to take this movie emotionally--and she does eventually bring it across the finish line with moving results. **1/2 from ****

mregor532 I have watched this movie several times and I could watch it again. Each time that I watch I see a little more. If this were about Jack as a doctor, it could have ended with the scene of him tossing the interns the gowns and consigning them to 72 hours of endurance as patients. The movie ends on the roof of the hospital as Jack reads the letter from June. She tells the parable of the farmer and his fences. How the farmer changes his mind and wants the animals to return. He stands in the field and flaps his arms to attract them, but the animals are frightened by the new scarecrow. At first, I did not understand this. Then I thought back to the scene of Jack blowing his whistle and pointing to the board where he has written I need you. For me the movie works not as a story about a doctor who is brought to the light by seeing the world from the viewpoint of the patient. It is about how one cannot live a life alone.

Diva101 While this is not really the kind of movie that someone calls a favorite or one that you want to watch over and over again, it has it's interesting and touching moments. This is even more so if you've ever worked around smug doctors, have gone through a medical crisis or have supported someone through one. William Hurt plays his usual "I need a jolt to get me out of this semi-comatose drawl" guy which actually works well for the part. His stereotyped distant demeanor as a physician who seems to have it all quickly dissipates after being diagnosed and treated for cancer. Unfortunately, he turns a tad too sappy in the end. A scene in which he caressed the head of patient who he just performed a heart transplant on was too sugary for my taste. As happens far too often, women only get "tool" supporting characters here. While I've usually considered Elizabeth Perkins a non-actress, she shows otherwise in this movie and delivers a good performance if only in a supporting role. The movie is well cast all around. Christine L and Mandy P also deliver good performance if in all too small roles. The script and directing could have been better.

Nimble-Bird The premise seemed a little too straightforward at first glance: Doctor becomes patient. But it is so well executed, you can't help but be drawn in. I kept suspecting it was going to turn sappy at any moment, but director Randa Haines does not hold back on the emotional awkwardness that comes from difficult situations. There is much less sentimentality than Haines' best-known film, Children of a Lesser God. And although Hurt is far less "charming" in this film than he was in that one, he actually is more watchable. The more difficult he becomes, the more interesting the film gets.Another intriguing aspect of the film is the feelings Chritine Lahti's character experiences, from sympathy to anger, to jealousy, to feeling shut out, you name it. In fact, the film could have delved even deeper into their marital discord and it would not have lost me. For some this film may go down a little too easily, but I think the accessibility of the subject matter in this case is an asset.