Doc Hollywood




What music?

Dr. Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) is on his way to a new job in the big city of Los Angeles when he has an accident and causes some property damage. He is sentenced to community service in the small town of Grady by serving as the doctor there. So he's basically stuck in the last place he wants to be for an indefinite period of time. Everyone, especially the mayor (David Odgen Stiers), wants him to stay because the other doctor (Barnard Hughes) is getting old. He is at first adamantly against this notion until he gets to know a local girl named Lou (Julie Warner) who catches his eye.

This is a pretty simple story about a man slowly coming to appreciate the pluses of small town life. The citizens of Grady aren't exactly the type Ben is used to dealing with, but they're not over the top hicks like in some other movies of similar subject. The folk themselves provide some of the best humor of the movie.

While this is a comedy, the laughs are pretty far between. It's only good for a few chuckles, as the whole fish out of water angle is never fully realized. So don't think of this as a comedy so much as a romance between Ben and Lou, which isn't bad. At first she is slightly less than receptive, as she's had a somewhat rocky past. But soon they warm up to each other.

Fox is decent as Dr. Stone, a slightly egotistical but believably frustrated guy. Julie Warner is great as Lou, his interesting love interest. There are also some notably good co-stars including Woody Harrelson.

Sometimes it feels as if what could have been great scenes were slightly short changed. As it is, the best parts don't come until well after the halfway mark. People expecting a light film be warned that there is a scene of prolonged nudity.



-The Gnome