Living Proof

It's 1988. Dr. Dennis Slamon (Harry Connick Jr.) is researching a breast cancer gene treatment at the UCLA Medical Center. Jamie McGrath (Amanda Bynes) is an English Lit student who gets the assistant job that nobody wants. Slamon lacks the funds for research and the time for his family. Lilly Tartikoff (Angie Harmon) insists on fundraising for Slamon. As he works on the treatment, the movie also follows several women who discover they suffer from breast cancer.

This is based on the true story of the struggles to get approval for the breast cancer drug Herceptin. While it provides a few interesting insights into drug trials, the central story isn't actually that dramatic. The most compelling parts of the movie are some of the great actresses doing the cancer patients.

Not being a woman perhaps some of it may have escaped me. Having seen this on TV at lunch time I was a little prejudiced with the association of midday movies which often are just that... However the topic interested me especially since our daughter is in research so I am a little familiar with the difficulty researchers encounter that often is not related to the value of their work. Instead it seems to be more generated with political and administrative agenda. Or simply something to do with the flavour of the year.... However the fact it was inspired directly by a very courageous effort to help those caught in a final page of their lives was worth the watching. . I don't seem to see negative reviews about this movie. However despite my interest in wanting to see it through I did found it quite melodramatic. I do understand for those affected it is a highly emotional situation. As such the little humour added here and there is also a real way to help to cope..

This is the true story of the first Doctor to find a treatment for breast cancer that did not involve killing cells in the body (radiation/ chemo). This determined physician - Dr. Dennis J. Slamon - and his vision for a new treatment and those who believed and supported him in his work is so movingly told. The producing team (Chicago, Hairspray) including Renee Zellweger, and the incredible cast of actors, and wonderfully directed - you know this film was a true labor of love. It shows in every minute of the film. I missed this on TV and just happened upon this at the Blockbuster and I was blown away it is the best movie I have seen this year. Like others I wept at times with sorrow and other times with joy. Thank you to all that made the showing of this story possible.

FILE THIS ONE UNDER.... "TRUTH IS OFTEN STRANGER THEN FICTION"!

BUT BEFORE DIVING IN: Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content & Context:

It's usually best to try to be somewhat objective when writing a review. This simply wasn't possible in the case of "Living Proof". It's hard to be objective about death. My mother-in-law succumbed to Lung Cancer on February 24, almost 6 months ago to the day of posting this review. "MUST SEE" is a phrase you won't find in ANY of my 50 reviews...until today.

For those of us who have had someone dear struck down by cancer, this is one film you owe it to yourself to see. As is frequently the case with true stories, the old "Truth IS Stranger than Fiction" adage inescapably comes to mind after viewing. With health care a hot-button issue that has figured prominently in the news, almost on a daily basis, in recent months, "Living Proof" should appeal to anyone and everyone who has an interest in this pivotal issue. The central thread of the story focuses on Dr. Dennis Slamon's heroic and arduous 12 year marathon research campaign to acquire FDA approval for his tumor-shrinking drug, Hercepton. Dr. Slamon, almost single-handedly, eventually triumphs over a seemingly endless and insurmountable array of bureaucratic and administrative hurdles. Both Living Proof's true story itself and the ensemble acting merit 10*!

Considering it's made for TV origin, it is rather unusual to see three name actresses appear in the same film. Regina King, Swoosie Kurtz and Bernadette Peters all turn in Emmy nomination caliber performances. Harry Connick Jr., who portrays Dr. Slamon, does a commendable job, albeit not quite at the level of the 3 aforementioned actors.

The following is an unresearched comment: Owing to the subject matter of this movie, I don't think it's much of a leap to assume that for many of the actors and crew involved, Living Proof was a labor of love. Of course, it is difficult to watch at times, because watching people who are inconsolable, begging for medication that is their only viable hope for staying alive, isn't easy. It brought me to tears several times. The maudlin music was unoriginal and too prominent at times, for example.

9********* STARS.

This is a wonderful movie that is based on the true story of one doctor, who refused to give up. He battled a greedy drug company for over a decade and made it through FDA clinical trials to get a groundbreaking drug approved that changed cancer treatment as we know it. This man is a national treasure.