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.

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.

A surprisingly good movie. Surprising, partly because it was Harry Connick Jnr, partly because of the low budget, partly because the subject matter could have so easily lent itself to schmaltz.

Harry Connick Jr turned it a great performance. He somehow added the right amount of nerd to give a realistic feeling performance. The director triumphed over the budget, creating a compelling movie. Particularly striking was the effective deployment of a disused cliché, the white fadeout. The treatment was sensitive, with a true feel for the complexities involved in such a life and death area.

The film is not easy to watch in places, the ending is somewhat patronizing, but overall, an enjoyable and enriching experience.

There is always a negative connotation with TV movies. And from the looks of most TV films, it is safe to assumed so. TV films tend to be films that have recycled material so many times that we can predict every scene which in the end muddled the message. But once in a while, there is a diamond underneath all these TV garbage. If we hold on to such stereotypes of TV films we will most likely missed the few good ones. I'm glad that I watched it after all. The reason I was interested in this TV movie was because of the cast, primary Amanda Bynes.

This movie will inform you of things that most of you have may have not known about Breast Cancer. Who knew that there are so many obstacles in getting a drug approved by the FDA. This movie celebrates the struggle and success of a man who was optimistically determined to get his powerful drug approved and tested. He did not do it alone; he received help from his supporting wife, his assistant, and his friends. It shows the importance of having friends and family who care and support you.

Due to such a large but impressive cast, each actresses are given small allowances of scenes. But each actress "hit out of the ball park" and put good to use with their limited scenes. My favorite cancer patient would be the Seahorse-Tea Powder lady; her last scene will make you wept twice. Amanda Bynes dramatic debut was a huge success. She does bring some of her lovable humor in at the beginning of the movie, but becomes serious towards the end of the film. She also made good use with her limited scenes. I look forward to Amanda's future darker roles. The last scene of the movie is memorable, Oscar-Worthy even.

GO watch this movie. It is worthwhile. You will be entertained, your tear ducts will overflow, you will laugh, and most importantly of all, YOU will learn. I can't get over the shock that Lifetime could come up with such a great, well-made film.

The movie was worth watching and was consciousness-raising in ways. Its depiction of the steps involved in FDA approval of drugs was informative. But the unrealistic parts of the movie made me wonder whether other parts of it were in fact accurate. For example, the cleavage shown on women said to be stage-four breast-cancer victims was laughable. And the scenes involving people undergoing chemotherapy or who had recently undergone chemotherapy were also suspect. Their full heads of hair did not appear to be wigs. My overall impression was that whoever was in charge of the details of the filming knew very little about breast cancer.