Gross Anatomy

A good film about the life of a medical student. Shows what students might have to look forward to.

This is a genteel romantic comedy about the first year of medical school from the perspective of Laurie Rorbach (Daphne Zuniga). There's no hold barred from day one onward: This is a total commitment.

Enter Joe Slovak (Matthew Modine. He's the wise guy from a lower class background but he's got a system for beating the odds and getting by with a minimum of effort. His natural intelligence pulls him through most test of wills, but that chip on the shoulder attitude leaves him with utter contempt for the concept that something greater than educating a medical mechanic is at work. A wise instructor Dr. Rachel Woodruff (Christine Lahti) is out to teach Slovak a powerful lesson.

The lab partner make up an excellent supporting cast. The washout student who is bright willing though unable, the Joe-College type who has pretensions and ambitions as thinly veiled as Slovak's sarcasm, and the female student whose husband wants to keep her barefoot and pregnant give a good cross-section of young adulthood which is of course still in a "becoming" stage.

I was surprised to see that this delightful film did not get higher ratings.

Not a great film, I suppose, but "Gross Anatomy" has enough that's entertaining, engaging and memorable about it to recommend the film to fans of character drama. "ER" and "Chicago Hope" may well have set the standard for medical dramas, but this look at some first-year med students and their quest to achieve the impossible (become a practicing surgeon or specialist) has long since been forgotten in the trash-bin of seemingly negatable Disney flicks. Released at the turn of the 80's, when Disney was rampantly putting out what seemed like a movie a week, it features a sterling performance by the eternally underrated Matthew Modine as Joe Slovak, an endlessly appealing character despite his tendency to annoy everyone else in the film. Slovak is a wonderful creation on the part of the writers, first seen in a highly memorable pre-credits sequence in which each of the post-grad medical schools asks him questions that eventually reveal the 'real Joe'. Or at least the Joe Slovak he wishes to project. Christine Lahti, who would of course go on to fame and acclaim in "Chicago Hope", practiced her medical chops here as a sickly professor bent on pressuring her students to achieve perfection, even if they themselves aren't often willing to reach for it. The rest of the cast (Daphne Zuniga and the always-great Todd Fields) have done work elsewhere that's gotten more attention, but it's doubtful they've ever been as effective as they are here. By no means is this a classic, but a sharply-observed film that despite a layer of Disney-esque schmaltz manages to touch, entertain and invigorate.

"Gross Anatomy" is a romantic comedy and med school student learns about life and himself character study, nicely rolled into a drama. I first saw it as a young teen in the early 90s, and it stuck with me as a dramatic romantic comedy but more so as a med school examination that really spoke to me.

Almost twenty years later, I am much more film literate, and while I still like it, I can see it's not as good as it could have been, or as I remember it. It's really not much of a character study, as Matthew Modine's Joe is your typical smart slacker who gets by on his looks, charm and natural intelligence - which is almost enough for med school. I wish they showed me more of his struggles in school and less of his romantic efforts to win over Laurie (Daphne Zuniga). The romantic comedy angle is so formulaic and predictable, that the comedy fell flat. On the other hand, the interpretation of med school seemed more realistic and not as enticing as most shows and movies make it out to be.

"Gross Anatomy" is probably more intriguing to a younger audience, with its immature characters and predictable romance. But these characters are appealing, especially Modine as we follow him on his journey through first year med school. I was not as emotionally invested as I first was years ago, but I still enjoyed this as a cute film.

Joe Slovak (Matthew Modine) is the son of an east coast fisherman. Bright as a button, however, Joe wants to become a doctor and he gains acceptance into a medical school. Once there, his easy going style is at odds with those around him. Beautiful Laurie (Daphne Zuniga) is the privileged daughter of a wealthy doctor and wastes no time in telling Joe that her schedule has no room for casual dating. Then, too, Joe's anal roommate, David (Todd Field) is so uptight he has flossing on his daily schedule and his lab partner, Miles, has a silk shirt on every day. In addition to all of this, the school boasts a no-nonsense instructor (Christine Lahti) that uses ridicule as a teaching tool, if she so desires. Will Joe be able to sail the difficult waters of a first year medical student, without compromising his basic style and principles? This is a fine look at the first year in the life of a medical student. The workload is excruciating, to say the least, and even those who are smart and dedicated can fall between the cracks, failing examinations and more. All of the actors playing these roles are terrific, with Modine a delight as the atypical medical student and Zuniga very lovely as the determined but thoughtful doctor to be. Then, too, Lahti is wonderful as the much-despised instructor who uses her sharp tongue to weed out those who don't have what it takes to become competent doctors. You will like the costumes, sets, and look of this film very much, too. If you are contemplating a future as a doctor, you must get this film soon, as it will give you a taste of the intensity your life will take on for the next few years. But, even if you just love films about the medical profession or those that boast a nice little love story, this one is for you.