Critical Care

source: Critical Care

There are a lot of good elements to this movie. It reminds me of a feature length episode of "Scrubs" (I'm sure there are other hospital shows like this movie as well, but "Scrubs" is the only one I've ever watched). And even though there are many good elements I still don't have the affinity for it that I have for "Scrubs." Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) is a resident at Memorial Hospital. He's young, over worked, and over sexed. The patient in bed five just recently had a heart attack and is comatose. When the patient's attractive daughter Felicia Potter (Kyra Sedgwick) comes to visit her ailing father Dr. Ernst spots her and begins making his move. He scored with the PYT, but at a tremendous cost. She recorded them together--and more importantly--she recorded him saying that her father was in a permanent vegetative state. That's all she needed to get an injunction to have the plug pulled on the old man thereby padding her bank account by $10 million. Opposing her was her born-again sister, Connie Potter (Margo Martindale), who wanted her father kept alive at all costs because then she'd get the $10 million. In the middle of it all was the hospital trying to avoid any kind of lawsuit and a hospital director making sure that patients without healthcare were summarily dismissed. The ingredients were excellent, yet the movie fell flat. One thing that hurt it for me was that it wasn't funny. It was branded a comedy, yet nothing was funny about it. "Scrubs" was funny even when they dealt with heavy topics. This movie dealt with a heavy topic, tried to work comedy into it, and failed. The second detractor was James Spader. He is a supporting character at best to me. I don't see him as a lead character---or at least not a lead character in this type of movie. Finally, I didn't agree with the message. Ernst gave his climactic soliloquy, which was truthful, yet it was devoid of any real impact. He stated what needed to be stated: the sisters just wanted the $10 million, the hospital was just trying to avoid a lawsuit, the insurance company just wanted to collect premiums while not paying out anything, and Ernst himself was a doctor who wanted a nice car and nice women. Facts. But Ernst somehow was the only one who had an epiphany. He slept with Felicia, thereby compromising himself and the hospital, yet because he had this awakening he was able to come up with a magical solution to make him the hero by saving his job, getting each sister $5 million, and giving him the ability to pull the plug on the old man (which is what Felicia wanted anyway, but because her reason for wanting it was wrong she looked like a bad guy). Why was pulling the plug on bed five the right thing? Because Ernst gave us the impression that he finally cared about his patient and this is the best thing to do for any human being? It's clear that that's the message "Critical Care" was pushing: end the suffering and prolonged life of terminally ill patients. Pull the plug. The two plug pullers, Nurse Stella (Helen Mirren) and Ernst, were the protagonists, and we were led to believe that they did the most compassionate thing for their patients. But was it? I know this is a touchy topic that will produce strong opposing opinions, but it's still a good question: why was pulling the plug the right thing?

Man, talk about a missed opportunity. This oddly obscure medical film from prolific and uneven legend Sidney Lumet attempts to bridge the gap between comedy and drama, and although occasionally in succeeds (mostly in the snarky repartee between doctor James Spader and nurse Helen Mirren), it mostly fails due to a lack of depth in its characterization, and everything is attempts to do, "Scrubs" has done better at least 10 times a year. It's basically the plot of the second half of "Million Dollar Baby", from the doctors' point of view, with all the random hospital jokes and long-winded speeches that come with that. Actually, considering Margo Martindale's presence at the vegetable's side, it feels more like that film that I was comfortable with, heh. But, being a James Spader movie, there has to be a random sex scene in the middle of it, and it got me out of that funk. It's not as kinky as I would have anticipated, although he does tape it. Actually, the cast is *shockingly* fabulous and makes me sad that they were wasted in such a middling film. In addition to Spader, we have Kyra Sedgwick (in a bizarrely-dressed performance), Helen Mirren, Anne Bancroft, Albert Brooks, Jeffrey Wright, Wallace Shawn, Colm Feore AND Edward Hermann. Really, you got THAT group together and made a lame, jokey hospital melodrama? Shame on you, Lumet. It moved quickly and rarely grew painfully tiresome, but as every joke felt flat and every emotional scene fizzled harmlessly, it just made me nostalgic for the time two hours earlier when I was watching "Scrubs". Those were great times. {Grade: 5.5/10 (C+/C) / #55 (of 66) of 1997}

A very sarcastic film, and quite an entertaining one, too. Although (or maybe because) many of the truths about the American medical system presented seem to have been taken directly from Samuel Shem's novels, and despite the hard to believe ending, this movie is fun to watch. Its relatively low imdb rating is prove for the relatively low level of humor that most people share. I recommend this movie to any medical student, trust me- you will enjoy it.

Movie tries to be funny but fails in its attempt. Also, the movie has such a simplistic ending. Basically 2 sisters are fighting over their dad who is on his death bead. One sister wants the dad to be taken off life support soon so that he will die and she can collect all of his money. The other sister will receive all the money if the dad lives long enough. The hospital want's to keep him alive until his insurance runs out. The sister who wants the dad to die, seduced a doctor and is blackmailing him with a video tape and threatens to turn the video over to the hospital if he doesn't cause her dad to die. The solution the doctor proposes is the solution most normal people would think of with only a few seconds of thought needed. And the way the doctor forces the solution and wraps up the whole film in a couple of minutes is just too simplistic. It was a dumb movie and an even worse ending. 3 stars out of 10.

When a movie has an amazing cast such as this one does, you would expect great things. Not so with this disaster. Such wasted potential. Embarrassing performances by all but I blame the script and ultimately the director. This movie could have been so much better but gets bogged down with needless religious and morality undertones. Worth a watch but don't expect much.

This was on television the other day and the guide information, as well as the dvd cover made it look like a wacky comedy, and I was in the mood for a wacky slapstick go around - however it is somewhat of a comedy but more so a serious drama questioning morality and mortality and much deeper than it had the right to be. Don't get me wrong, it is still 90's campy but entertaining and a good watch. Acting is a mixed bag but this film is more about the story than the acting. It is a seven out of ten kind of deal but I am bumping it up to a ten out of ten just to offset the current rating.

As much fun as it is to see James Spader looking adorable, halfway through I just had to turn it off. If it had any significance in 2001 to another fine reviewer, by 2020 it's become a pathetic romCom. The cast Has some good names but I was embarrassed for Kyra Sedgwick who is a terrific actress - this role offered no example of her in either a comedic or dramatic role.

Not bad medical drama hampered by the fact that for a great deal of the film Spader's character behaves like an idiot. This isn't the actors fault, he gives as good a performance as possible considering the actions forced on him by the script. He is certainly supported by a high quality cast in almost every role. Kyra Sedgwick is annoying and not terribly convincing but she is the lone sore spot. Helen Mirren is wonderful as an understanding and compassionate nurse and Albert Brooks a stitch as a loony doctor well past his sell by date. The script has many holes but it does make a strong plea for doctors seeing patients as people not just science projects and sources of income.

Directors as renowned and diverse as Sidney Lumet only come along every so often. This great director had such an incredibly long career as a filmmaker before his unfortunate passing earlier this year. His career spanned fifty years and practically every genre you can think of. Only a few times did Lumet tackle comedy, and Critical Care is one of those times. The movie takes place in a hospital where Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) becomes helplessly involved in a legal battle between two half-sisters who are fighting over the $10 million inheritance of their comatose father. Werner has to put up with this feud as well as his senile supervisor, Dr. Butz, played by an almost unrecognizable Albert Brooks, who insists that Werner only take care of patients with health insurance. Werner must maneuver around the legality of the hospital in order to do what is right for the patient in this twisty, wacky, nutty, and all around fun flick from the late and great Sidney Lumet. Critical Care is a fairly straightforward film when you boil it down. There isn't a lot going on here, but what it has to offer is entertaining enough. It's a witty little film with fun characters and great performances. I thoroughly enjoyed James Spader as the film's lead, as he carries the film well, but the film is really lifted up by its supporting cast. Helen Mirren plays the head nurse on Spader's floor, who has a profound outlook on life, even if she has very unorthodox ways of showing it. She isn't in every scene but when she stops by it always seems she is there to give some sort of advice or perspective on the wacky situation the other characters find themselves in. Jeffrey Wright has a small part as a dying patient who sees visions of the devil coming to take his soul. The devil is played by highly unexpected Wallace Shawn. The sub story that develops between Wright and Shawn, as well as Mirren, is a fascinating parallel to the central story of the film. Kyra Sedgwick and Margo Martindale play the two half-sisters fighting over their father. Sedgwick is a seductive model whose devious ways get Spader into more trouble than he bargained for. Martindale is a deeply religious woman who uses God as her safety net for everything she says about her father and the situation she is in. Her over the top character effectively pokes fun at devout Christians who believe Jesus is the answer to all problems, something I'm always a fan of. But my favorite character of them all is easily the curmudgeonly Dr. Butz, played incredibly well by Albert Brooks in an hysterical role. Dr. Butz is grumpy, unethical, and very technologically challenged, making for some silly yet amusing running jokes in the film. I looked forward to every scene with Brooks as the nutty geezer and was always satisfied with whatever scene he appeared in. When you get right down to it, Critical Care is a film that you watch, enjoy, then forget. I really liked this flick. It made me laugh and it didn't waste my time or insult my intelligence. It's simple enough and not something to do back flips for. It's a small film, very minimalistic, but makes the most out of what it has. The actors are great and the variety of characters are all fun. I couldn't see myself watching this film again but it was at least an effective use of an hour and forty minutes of my time.