Doc Hollywood
Published August 19, 2023
Film info
- Title Doc Hollywood
- Director Michael Caton-Jones
- Year 1991
- Run time 1hr 44m
- Genres Comedy, Romance
- Tagline He was headed to Beverly Hills to be a plastic surgeon... but he took an exit to a town that didn't take plastic.
'Beverly Hills. The most beautiful women in the world. Plastic surgery. What do these three things have in common?' Dr. Ben Stone asks. 'Me, in less than a week!' It turns out to be an eye-opening week. And Doc Hollywood turns out to be a witty charmer. Stone is a newly minted MD whose medical fast lane cruise takes a small-town detour. Grady, South Carolina, Squash Capital of the South, is home to salt-of-the-earth folks who give the West Coast-bound hotshot the seasoning he lacks.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:13 | I feel like when people say the doctors look too young, he really does! |
| 9:20 | “Your honour, there were cows in the middle of the road.” |
| 9:51 | Did Cars completely rip off this plot? |
| 15:37 | Love the extra syllable in quilt. Quee-ult. |
| 18:37 | “How am I gonna convince you to stay here if you’re not here?” |
| 21:22 | Did he quit his old job and everything and he’s not even interviewed for the LA job yet? |
| 27:07 | Love that he’s getting into the stories in the letters. |
| 32:14 | “Olpumpengehausen.” |
| 36:11 | He called him chicken! That’s a reference, right? |
| 39:31 | Nurse Packer is a stone-cold legend. I need to be more Nurse Packer. |
| 46:35 | “Do you take plastic?” “Not unless it’s wrapped around a pile of cash.” |
| 51:00 | Confused about it being the Ghostbusters car until remembering it’s an ambulance. |
| 54:14 | “We’re not using hooks today.” Incredible. |
| 1:06:44 | The doc can dance?? |
| 1:19:22 | “I hate a tight hat.” I don’t understand this discussion. |
| 1:37:17 | Bless Nancy Lee, driving all that way on a hope. |
Thoughts
Hooray for another Michael J. Fox movie and not only that, it was so good! I can’t believe it’s taken me this long in my movie-watching career to see it! This film was super funny, and although it had to tread that fine line of poking fun at but not bullying small town America, it did a pretty good job. Fox was great, naturally, but the supporting cast rallied around to really make this film what it was.
Obviously there are the comparisons to Cars, and it’s a wonder that more fuss wasn’t made officially when that movie came out, but this appears to the be the OG and does it very well. I like the not-so-subtle Marty McFly references too. Lovely stuff.
Rating: 5 / 5