Patch Adams

I have to applaud both the real Patch Adams and the late Robin Williams for bringing his story to the screen for us. I really identified with the character, but that kind of approach to your job has its pitfalls.

Back in my working days at Crime Vicims Board in New York State I thought as did Patch Adams not to just take a bureaucratic approach to helping victims at a crisis point in their lives. Think of them as human beings and not just claimants. It was rewarding, it put me at odds with some of my colleagues and supervisors.

That kind of approach can also take its toll mentally on the individual. For any number of reasons I was glad to take an early retirement.

But I didn't have nearly the educational requirements to enter that profession. And getting too much involved could make you a basket case. Look at how on MASH those doctors deal with the hell of war and the absurdities of their situation. How much more so with someone who already had mental health issues?

Saying all that Patch Adams is a remarkable man and Robin Williams did a remarkable biographical film about him. Fictionalized a bit, but I think he got the right spirit for the part. Some other good performances are that of Carol Potter as the love interest, Daniel London as Williams's medical sidekick and Michael Jeter as the mental patient who awakens Patch Adams to his new approach to healing.

Patch Adams got one Oscar nomination for musical scoring. Should have rated a couple of others including one for Williams.

A fine film about an interesting man.

Robin Williams has so many films in his resume, it is very difficult to choose which one he believes is his best work. Like a true artist, he gives his talent to every role and each plays a part in his greatness. This movie for instance, I believe will become his crowning achievement. The film is called " Patch Adams. " It is based on the real doctor who offers to share a real love of medicine with anyone who chooses to become a doctor. His seeming ambivalence towards established rules and protocols and his unorthodox manner in treating patients is irritating to Dean Walcott (Bob Gunton) who tolerates Adams until he can summon enough evidence to expel the "Excessively Happy" medical student from the school. Although the role is a direct shadow of Williams's career as a comic, it is also a mirror image of his soul when he displays his sorrow and despair. It is during those touching moments we can see how much the master comic suffers for his character. When viewing this fine film, be prepared to journey with Williams through the happiness and tragedies his character experiences. An excellent example of an artist at work. Easilly recommended for all. ****

In my opinion,Robin Williams is at his best when playing characters much like himself.This film is based on the life of the real Hunter "Patch" Adams,a man that Williams himself says that he closely relates to.In the medical profession,it is easy to become hard nosed and so wrapped up in treating the sickness that it is all too easy to forget that there are actual people behind the sickness.We are taught by Patch to treat the person first,because when you do so,treating the illness becomes somewhat easier.Sometimes people don't get better,but treating the soul to a laugh or two can lessen the pain and suffering.Sometimes people die,and while the people that loved them suffer and grieve,the suffering and grief are eased somewhat by the knowledge that their departed loved ones no longer suffer.This role was tailor made for Williams,and he is supported well,including another overlooked performance by the late Michael Jeter as a squirrel fearing mental patient.Thumbs up!

Patch Adams is classic Robin Williams. The film is funny at times, moving at times, and a good movie to watch.

I really don't get the people who have such negative reviews, did they even watch the same movie?

I think that the critics missed an important aspect of this movie, as did many viewers who have commented before me. Too many have claimed that this movie was a drama full of comedy, or a drama that was trying to be funny. Whether the critics think it achieved that goal or not, they missed an important point. The point is that Drama and Comedy are not two seperate things to be combined. A movie shouldn't have to combine the two. The two things are already combined. This movie attempted to show that there is comedy and laughter inherent in the drama of our everyday life. If we can find it, it can help us through the drama. This is the reason we cry when we are happy and we cry when we are sad. All emotions are part of something bigger and they are more similar than we think. I think that's part of what Patch Adams is trying to say.