Dr. T & the Women

After writing three high-praise reviews, I tried to think of the worst movie that I'd ever sat through and this movie came to mind, front and center. I've sat through plenty of "chick flicks" but even by chick flick standards this one is just horrible. (to give this a more modern reference, I rate this one below "The Vow" on the painful to watch scale. If The Vow is a broken femur, Dr. T and the Women is everlasting torment in the 9th circle of Hell.)

I try to look for the good in any movie, and I have plenty of low budget favorites as well as many Hollywood, blockbuster favorites. I've actually seen Dr. T. and the Women, movie on people's "Favorites" lists and I scratch my head and the only conclusion I can come up with is that the people that made this movie and actually like this movie are infatuated with Richard Gere and he could just stand in front of a camera doing anything at random for 90 minutes and these persons would have a deep admiration of the film... As a movie there is just nothing here. It is an absolute piece of c. I honestly believe that this movie could cause brain damage. Honestly I generally like Richard Gere movies, be they chick flick or not, but this is just an abomination. And if you absolutely have to see Helen Hunt in a "B" movie checkout Trancers. At least there is no pretense.

In praise (or annoyance) of women

An overworked gynecologist (Richard Gere) in Dallas faces problems with an assortment of women beyond his practice. His NFL cheerleader daughter is getting married (Kate Hudson), but his younger daughter (Tara Reid) drops the ball on her sister. Worse, his wife (Farrah Fawcett) has to be placed in a mental institution, so he turns to a golf pro for succor (Helen Hunt). Meanwhile, his sister-in-law is an alcoholic (Laura Dern) and his office manager's feelings are dubious (Shelly Long). Liv Tyler is also on hand.

Helmed by Robert Altman, "Dr. T & the Women" (2002) is an ensemble dramedy with some romance. It has a horrible reputation, but it's actually not bad as long as you're in the mood for a drama with amusing touches. It's far from great, yet it's certainly not bad. Gere is likable in the title role and bends over backwards to help all the women in his life. The women are likable too, although many of the peripheral ones are somewhat annoying.

I find the criticism that the film is "misogynistic" funny in light of the fact that the screenplay was written by a woman, Anne Rapp. Others argue that the story's pointless and the ending is unbelievable. While the latter point is true, this IS a dramedy/satire and not everything is SUPPOSED to be strictly realistic. As to the former criticism, just enjoy the ride and reflect on the plot and subplots. You may not agree with its points, and they may be elusive, but it's not pointless.

While I like the film and it contains scores of beautiful women, I'm only giving it a marginal "thumbs up" because they could've done better on this front considering the wealth of resources they had to work with, not to mention the opening credits sequence is noticeably overlong and dull. Interestingly, the ending graphically details the birth of a baby, a male.

The film runs 2 hours, 2 minutes, and was shot in the Dallas area.

GRADE: B-