"Doc Hollywood" (1991)

Rating: PG-13 (adult situations/language, nudity)

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Directed By: Michael Caton-Jones

Written By: Neil B. Shulman, Laurian Leggett, Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Daniel Pyne

On Disc/Streaming: Oct 6, 1998

Runtime: 103 minutes

Studio: Warner Home Video

Summary: 
Michael J Fox plays a cocky young doctor named Ben Stone who embarks on a road trip to California in pursuit of a relaxed and high-paying career as a plastic surgeon where he can tend to the rich and famous. However, as luck would go, on route he crashes his car on a small-town judge’s property in South Carolina. Unable to continue his journey, he is enlisted as the town’s doctor as a way of serving his time for his fau-pas at the local hospital. While initially repulsed by the idea, the community spirit soon brings him around, as well as a pretty ambulance driver, Viaula, played by Julie Warner.

Review: 

This film has been in our cupboards at home for years after my parents recorded it on VHS. This was a sign, for me, that as ludicrous as the trailer had initially seemed, it was going to be worth the watch.

I didn’t know anything about it before watching the trailer. I’d seen the movie posters for it, combine these with the name, I was expecting something completely different to what I watched!! I found myself laughing at parts and while there were many moments I found myself questioning what I was watching, I was in it to see it to the end.

There’s a varying bunch of endearing and lovable characters. While they may appear a bit goofballish initially, they all have something to teach Ben by the end of the film – As the saying is, everyone you meet in in life knows something you don’t.

Some quite random scenarios present themselves too which is what adds to the comedy. As a thank you from one of the patients after saving his daughter’s life, one of the townspeople presents Ben with a pet pig. The sight of Ben walking his pig down the street is comical. What do you do when someone you barely know gives you a pig? And of course, the slowly blossoming romance between Viaula and Ben is really quite sweet. 

There’s also a running gag between Ben and an illiterate couple who attend his clinic so he can read them their son’s letters. Ben finds himself getting quite sucked into the family story which invites some chuckles. 

It’s a fun kinda movie! You can’t really go wrong when Michael J Fox is part of the cast.  It was a surprisingly highly entertaining and enjoyable movie. 

Final Rating: 3.5/5 Stars 

Trailer: