Article 99

Although somewhat of a comedy it is also a dramatic, realistic depiction of how the VA treats heros of war and still does to this day. It will make you angry, laugh & cry. It will also make you jump for joy as the vets and doctors revolt against VA's political games. I got the point of the movie and highly recommend it, especially for veterans.

I was surprised when I found this movie as it's a bit forgotten today despite having a cast of famous actors of those years. And when I finished it I was shocked at how much I liked it since despite its subject it had also some very funny moments.

In the beginning Pat Travis (Troy Evans, who is a bit forgotten today) is a military veteran that one day leaves his farm house as he has to go to a VA hospital. Once there, he finds a chaotic labirint of crazy obstacles and various funny characters. Luther (Keith David) is a veteran forced on a wheelchair used to the dysfunction in the place and he tells Pat ''There is always Article 99''. This is also Dr. Peter Morgan (Kiefer Sutherland)'s first day. He soon meets doctors Ruby Bodrick (John C. McGinley), Richard Sturgess (Ray Liotta) and Sid Handleman (Forest Whitaker) that take him under their wings and are surgeons who do unapproved operations. Nurse Robin van Dorn (Lea Thompson, Lorraine from BACK TO THE FUTURE) is a bit disgruntled towards Peter because she sees him as a dilettante. After a while Morgan rallies Luther and all the other veterans and they plan on a hostile takeover at the hospital for attending the patients without the administration's interference. Luther menaces the police with Polasky's automatic rifle and the police can't remove the veterans as the hospital is under federal jurisdiction. Soon the press arrives and the FBI goes there for assessing the situation. Under Luther's command, the veterans drop a massive banner in the hospital with written ''No surrender''. After they win this first battle, after a while there is another one as the new director wants to keep the old policies. Morgan and Sturgess will organize the last stand.

This film is like a document movie as it tackles the subject of what could happen if bureaucracy would rule supreme: there would be lack of medical equipment even for serious situations, the hospitals would be over-crowded (with long queues obviously) and many patients would risk their lives. What I liked most was the unintentional humour that came in three moments that I'll mention: 1) When Shooter Polaski drives to the hospital's entrance and starts a shooting rampage as he complains about a article 99 issue (2) When Luther is on an upper floor and two nurses want to take him back in his room but since he is in a wheelchair he grabs them with his arms and swirls them around in the corridory (3) When the veterans plan their rebellion and they scare the s**t out of the policemen and FBI agents in various ways as the officers try to break in,

While this is an underrated movie, it should be rediscovered for the subject and its cast, and I would recommend it also for the funny moments. And I just can't believe that it has a score of 6,1 as I am writing this review.

Set in a VA hospital, this movie illustrates what happens when "red tape" gets in the way of helping people. An enjoyable mixture of comedy and drama, it is reminiscent of the Altman classic M*A*S*H, staring Sutherland's father Donald. In fact, there's a nice salute to the elder Sutherland, during a scene between Keifer and an older hospital patient.

Those who didn't "get" this movie were perhaps looking for the wrong things. I won't say this movie was meant to inform, though perhaps it was. But it definitely makes you think. Is a medical system where doctors have to steal supplies and schedule proxy operations really what our country's heroes deserve? Moving and entertaining, I would definitely recommend this movie.

Consider the recent developments of the alleged "cooked books", "deleted patient lists" and "dieing patients" at several VA Facilities through-out the entire United States. In addition, the Inspector General (OIG) in involved in an investigation of "deleted" surveillance videos of alleged patient abuse at the Las Vegas VA Emergency Room. With these and many more "concerns" about the Department of Veteran Affairs and the on-going problems at their facilities, this movie should be re-released. Perhaps it would be prudent for all Staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs to view this movie as part of their "Welcome to the VA". It appears not much has changed at the VA since 1992 - 22 years ago.

Howard Deutsch's "Article 99" is a gripping satire about the Veteran Administration that is in charge of the health care for the men and women that served the country in foreign conflicts and who obviously, have no other means of getting health care. The film is more poignant to watch right now with the problems the country is facing in Iraq because today's soldiers fighting there might have to face the bureaucracy that rules what can, or cannot, be done to veterans without insurance, or money to pay for medical care.

We meet a group of dedicated doctors at a facility who are real professionals trying to go around the rules a tyrannical hospital administrator wants to impose on them. Thus, they will resort to stealing supplies that are denied to them in whatever form. It's an outrage to even think that medical care is denied to the people that were at the front lines to defend the country.

Ray Liotta is the best thing in the movie. His Dr. Sturgess is a maverick that can do things that others would not dare to do. Mr. Liotta gets a magnificent chance to shine as the idealistic doctor who will do anything to help his patients. Kiefer Sutherland appears as the young doctor assign to the hospital and has no clue what he has gotten into, but learns fast. Kathy Burke is also good as the doctor who opposes Sturgess' method, only to realize he was right all along. Among the staff we see familiar faces, Forest Whitaker, John McGinley, John Mahoney, Eli Wallach, Keith David, Julie Bovasso, Jeffrey Tambor and others that do ensemble acting in wonderful fashion under Mr. Deutsch's command.

The film is an eye opener as to how red tape rules a lot of government agencies.