Médicos Loucos e Apaixonados

Dr. Joseph Prang (Dabney Coleman) teaches the new batch of interns at City Hospital for the next twelve months. A mob boss in hiding has a heart attack. Angelo (Hector Elizondo) takes him to the hospital in disguise while hunted by a hit-man (Michael Richards). Intern Phil Burns (Taylor Negron) likes hard-nosed head nurse Norine Sprockett (Pamela Reed). Popular intern Dr. Bucky DeVol (Ted McGinley) falls for hooker Julie. Intern Dr. Stephanie Brody (Sean Young) is suffering from mysterious pains. Dr. Simon August (Michael McKean) is cold but can't help falling for Stephanie. He is desperate to be a surgeon but can't stand the sight of blood.

This Garry Marshall movie is part spoof of a soap opera like General Hospital in the vein of 'Airplane!'. There are some funny bits. I still remember the urine scene. However, the comedic jokes don't come quite as fast and furious as 'Airplane!'. It's pretty broad but not all of it works. The cameos don't work on me since I don't watch soap operas. Sean Young is great and her character is classic soap material. Michael McKean is less capable as a leading man. He doesn't have charisma. His character is suppose to be stiff but it doesn't work if the actor is too good at it. Overall, this needs more jokes.

In the tradition of other spoof movies, "Young Doctors in Love", a skewering of medical soap operas such as 'General Hospital', is the kind of thing that does require some attention to be paid, as there's a fair amount of detail to its presentation. It's handled by a group of TV veterans - Garry Marshall made his theatrical directing debut here, and the writers are Michael Elias and Rich Eustis, who also pack the movie with cameos by actual soap opera actors (you get to see a very young Demi Moore, who at the time was on GH). The main story line is of an arrogant, insufferable prick, Simon August (Michael McKean) who wants to be a top surgeon but who is scarred by a childhood prank, and the fellow doctor he loves, Stephanie Brody (Sean Young, looking just beautiful) and attempts to save after realizing she needs special surgery. Some gags are good, such as the pitiful fate of terminally unlucky hit man Malamud (Michael Richards, long before 'Seinfeld'), although it's some of the throwaway gags and lines that are the funniest. References to pop culture of the time are there, such as a line involving "E.T.". There's also the standard device of the popular man-in-drag idea as gangster Hector Elizondo (who as we all know became Marshall's good luck charm in all of his movies) disguises as a woman in order to smuggle his sickly dad (Titos Vandis), who's been targeted by other mob families, into the hospital. There aren't many performers here who did little else of note, and people will have a high old time noting all of the familiar faces. Ted McGinley, Taylor Negron, and Rick Overton are among the group of doctors, Dabney Coleman is the stressed out guy in charge, Patrick Macnee is utterly wasted in a next to nothing part, Crystal Bernard is an underage prostitute, Harry Dean Stanton is the expert in tasting bodily fluids, and Pamela Reed the dorky nurse who blossoms when she thinks Negron's doctor is interested in her (really, he just wants the key to the drug cabinet). It's a bit of a revelation that this first effort from Marshall is so unabashedly R rated with its sexual jokes and liberal use of profanity. It's not always terribly successful, but it does generate a pretty respectable amount of genuine laughs. What's amusing is the device it employs at the end, which we see sometimes in film, when the fates of the characters after the events of the movie are revealed, and the actors also get a roll call as well, which is nice. While "Young Doctors in Love" doesn't set off any real comedy fireworks, it's still not bad at all, and does present a respectable effort to go for a certain zaniness, even if it's not on the level of a "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein", or "Naked Gun". Generally likable. Seven out of 10.

This was a pretty amusing movie. I couldn't believe how many actors I recognized. Since I have to write at least 10 freakin' lines for this comment to be allowed, i'll list all of 'em. For some reason a few of the actors are uncredited even though they have speaking lines. Demi Moore has a one word line (uncredited), Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver) has quite a few lines but is still uncredited. Crystal Bernard has a couple lines (lookin' hot!), Ted McGinley (what a stud!), Michael Richards (Kramer), Kim McArthur (Playboy Playmate!), Billie Bird (Sixteen Candles-'Well what did they want?' 'Sex!'), Ed Begley Jr., Susan Lucci (uncredited), Mr. T and Christie Brinkley are uncredited but I never remember seeing them.

I think the first 30-45 minutes are the best. Hector Elizondo is so hilarious! This movie and Private Resort are classic Hector Elizondo. Just him alone is worth seeing this movie. Michael Richards has some great lines,too. You factor in all of that and some breasts and you've got yourself one hell of a good time!

A friend of mine knew I loved the movies "Repossessed" and "Silence of the Hams" along with the Zucker and Brooks films and introduced me to this one. Just as funny as those, this movie struck me with having just as many of the stars of the day as well as several up and coming future stars such as Ted McGinley, Richard Dean Anderson, Crystal Bernard, Rick Overton, Saul Rubinek and Michael Richards as a very Krameresque hit-man trying to bump off a underworld figure in the hospital. The main plot isn't as good as the sub-plots, but there's also some light nudity in order to really get your attention. Some of the jokes were later stolen to use in other parodies, but I was surprised to see an "E.T." reference since I was sure this movie predated that one. I don't know if this was shown theatrically, but I do consider myself lucky enough to find it on tape.

Why isn't this movie better known? I stumbled across it in a used video store and paid $2 for lack of anything else available. What a great surprise! It is the funniest movie I have ever seen. You can't take the world so seriously after watching "Young Doctors in Love."

All "Airplane-sque" films have to be extremely broad (but not vulgar) comedy that still somehow doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence. Such is a really tough combination (recall any of Leslie Neilson's attempts without the Zukers). Their audience is bright people who aren't embarrassed to laugh in the presence of other bright people. Young Doctors in Love is even better than Airplane. It is multilayered, and indeed does require several watchings to catch all its simultaneous hilarious flickers.

Nothing is sacred here. Dancing orphans, little people, egotistic surgeons, stroke victims with pointy tongues, balloon pregnancies (my personal favorite), (un?)requited transsexual love, nurses with pharmacy keys up for grabs, latino rumbra seducers, even vanilla ice cream. And poor "Kramer". Michael Richards fans must see this movie if for no other reason.

"Think fast!" and rent Young Doctors in Love today. You will be delighted. Guaranteed.