Bad Medicine

Steve Guttenberg took some time off from his "Police Academy" films with this sleight comedy that has the youngster going to medical school in Mexico after being rejected all over the U.S. There are truly some really funny moments and there is enough interest built up to make the finale feel appropriate, even if it is somewhat forced. Watchable and not a total waste from the sorry genre that dominated the 1980s. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Back in the late 1990s, the second channel of our notional TV used to air some foreign stuff after its longest newscast in 1:00 AM (Events of 24 Hours). The TV guide had the slightest idea about that. So it was utterly surprising everyday. And at one sleepless night, I met (Bad Medicine).

While being no one-star-show, I believe this movie is owned by (Alan Arkin). True there were (Steve Guttenberg), (Julie Hagerty), and other - no less funny or cute - cast members, but when it comes to Dr. (Ramón Madera), I just give up!

That character is unforgettable. He's a cold-hearted, restrainedly romantic, absolutely serious and funny dean / dictator. At the part of falling in love with (Hagerty), he delivered some of his best moments, and I'm talking about both (Madera) and (Arkin). By the way, for years I used to refer to this movie as nothing but "Madera's School"!

The rest of the characters were well made and portrayed. The comedy is serene. There was no violence, cursing, sexual joking, etc; namely the heavily ugly time that they call comedy in our times. Even the corpse's sequence was done beautifully, without any disgusting sense of humor.

Using certain ways, concerning arranging the letters, to memorize things while studying is perhaps something has been invented by smart student once. It's a good detail this movie captured. And it implied that this movie - as a whole - was made by smart people.

Unlike many many American comedies nowadays, this little comedy gained more than the double of its budget (Cost: $1,289,783. Gross: $2,685,453). So I don't know why it isn't so popular, unless for those who don't find any sleep in 2 AM!

Bad medicine, good comedy, and nice memory indeed.

'Bad Medicine' is not one of the best med-students comedy that I have seen. It's method of comedy and hilarity wavers frequently, perhaps some of the jokes are just too subtle or perhaps they are too dated and the finished product reminds me of Young Doctors in Love, a movie full of stupid comedy that should be funnier but for some reason, just isn't.

Steve Guttenberg plays Jeff Marx, a struggling first-year med student at a fourth-rate, sketchy medical school in Mexico. Classes are taught in Spanish, they all share one cadaver, and their praticioner field trips are little more than public relations opportunities. Despite the family trend of medical professionals, he is certain that he doesn't want to be a doctor, but the outrageous situations that ensue are about to make him reconsider. The ambitious students, which includes Curtis Armstrong as pharmacology expert, Dennis Gladstone, Julie Hagerty as the soft-spoken Liz Parker, Julie Kavner as the witty Cookie Katz, and Robert Ramanus as Carlos. Working cleverly under the nose of the self-involved school director, Dr. Ramón Madera (Alan Arkin), they seek to secretly help the town peasants with their medical ailments.

The movie tends to drag on at points, but this particular comedy might be one of those 80s comedies best suited for lazy weekend 'noon viewings. If nothing else, viewers might be attracted to its fairly familiar cast, which also includes Gilbert Godfried (not doing his shtick) and my personal favorite, Taylor Negron as Pepe the Cab Driver (who ironically, also appeared in Young Doctors in Love).

This typical 80's comedy "Bad Medicine"stars Steve Guttenberg as Jeff Marx,a young guy who does'nt want to follow his family tradition,but when cold-hearted cynic Dr.Madera(played brilliantly by Alan Arkin)uses a"saving the peasants"field trip as a publicity stunt,he soon changes his mind.Set in a spanish medical school,he meets new friend such as Jeff Gladstone(played by Curtis Armstrong,infamous as"Booger"in"Revenge Of The Nerds"),a hickish drug addict,Carlos(played by Robert Romanus,whose decent,but was better in"Fast Times At Ridgemont High"),Cookie(played by Julie Kavner,before her Marge Simpson voice fame),and Liz(played by Julie Hagerty,whose cute as a button as the dead-pan love interest of Guttenberg's).The movie is full of incoherent humor with mexican stereotypes and medical stuff.It does get gross after a while(notably,Guttenberg's flesh wound from being shot by an unsatisfied patient),but this comedy is very good.Guttenberg delivers the same lines and witt he's done in other films like the"Police Academy"series,"Short Circuit","Three Men And A Baby"and"Cocoon".Alan Arkin's performance is also great,this film should of been a major box-office hit.I give Bad Medicine a 8 of 10.

OK, these folks had a cast of good actors - in fact there are some pleasant surprises in that department, enough to make this a slightly better than average film. More on that later.

The screenplay and direction... well, it seems sometimes that any laughs in this thing were accidental - what may have been intended to be the big jokes fall flat, leaving incidental chances for levity. Very occasional chances until well into the film - so hang in there, people, it does get better.

What excuse does the director offer for this film? If you're going to do accent and ethnic humor, DO it. Don't hire Alan Arkin, then let him sleepwalk through an acting job - make him ACT, more than he did in the first half of this film. Beat him if you must, but do it. Don't let him be a walking ad for Ambien.

Good points? Steve Guttenberg actually surprised me on this one - he did an excellent job of acting, up there with his opening scenes in "The Boys From Brazil" as the young amateur Nazi hunter. So did Gilbert Gottfried, for that matter - he's much better than I have seen him perform in his other films. Bill Macy puts in an honest job, much more than I can say of Arkin, who seems to phone his lines in.

Production values?

The camera-work's pretty good - they shot the film in Spain and decent professionals did the technical work, but the person responsible for the soundtrack should be shot for having a very heavy hand with the brass in the orchestra and stealing the guitarist from some backyard porn studio in Marin County.

Yeah, you should watch it. It's worthwhile if you stick with the film until almost halfway through.