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"The
'Dr.' Is In"
by Scott Mantz
"Dr. T & the Women"
Richard Gere, Helen Hunt
Directed by Robert Altman
Say what you
like about Robert Altman, because the fact is, there's nobody quite
like him. He may not have directed a movie for a major studio in
almost 20 years (the last was 1980's "Popeye"), but that hasn't
stopped him from going the distance to make movies his way. He often
raises the financing himself, and many actors will work for less
then their usual salary just to be in one of his films. The result
is an incredibly prolific, but wildly unpredictable, body of work
that over the last decade has included some of his best films ("The
Player," "Short Cuts") and some of his worst ("Ready to Wear").
Fortunately, his latest movie, "Dr. T & the Women" falls somewhere
in between and fits the bill as an enjoyable, if rather odd, Altman
film.
To say that
gynecologist Sullivan Travis (Richard Gere), or Dr. T, as he likes
to be called, has his hands full would be an incredible understatement.
His office has more traffic going through it than the nearby Dallas
airport, and his home life isn't any less stressful. His wife (Farrah
Fawcett) has just been admitted to a mental hospital for running
naked through a mall, and his JFK conspiracy-obsessed daughter (Tara
Reid) is teeming with jealously over her cheerleading sister's (Kate
Hudson) impending wedding. To top it off, his recently-divorced
sister-in-law (Laura Dern), who is a raging alcoholic, has just
moved in, along with her kids. Just when Dr. T feels like his life
is spiraling out of control, he falls in love with a golf instructor
(Helen Hunt) who's unlike any woman he's ever met. And he's met
quite a few!
The only thing
traditional about a Robert Altman movie is how non-traditional it
is from other mainstream films. Where other films are seen as individual
works of art, an Altman film is like a whole collection of art blended
together on one canvas. Think of Altman as the paint brush and his
actors as the colors. He effortlessly weaves them in and around
each other until the resulting film is more like a complete body
of work, rather than just a collection of scenes. This approach
may not be as rewarding in "Dr. T" as it is in classics like "Nashville"
and "Short Cuts," but the effect is still there in all its chaotic
glory.
Richard Gere
has certainly had his share of womanizing roles ("American Gigolo,"
"Runaway Bride," "Autumn in New York"), so casting him as a gynecologist
may seem like a no-brainer. However, as Dr. T, Gere loves women
in a way that's very different from his other characters. Not only
does he have a tremendous amount of respect for them, but he puts
them on a pedestal and refers to them as saints who should be worshipped.
Gere shines
and gives one of the most sensitive and touching performances of
his career. If "Dr. T & the Women" is like a hurricane, then Gere
is the eye of the storm. He remains calm, cool, and collected, and
despite the chaos, he never changes his opinion about the women
who make his life a living hell. He even tries to stay true to his
wife, and only when their situation becomes hopeless does he start
to think about his own needs.
Let's not forget
about the women, and there are plenty of them. Farrah Fawcett has
quite literally lost it as Gere's wife and spends most of the film
out of her mind (maybe she was re-enacting her now-infamous appearance
on "The Late Show with David Letterman"). Helen Hunt is the golf
instructor who shows him that it is possible for a woman to be more
down to earth, while Shelley Long gives a stellar performance as
Gere's loyal office manager. Kate Hudson and Tara Reid play Gere's
self-absorbed daughters who are more concerned with wedding plans
and conspiracy theories than they are about their mother's health.
There's no doubt
that Robert Altman has a unique approach to filmmaking, but he also
has a bizarre sense of humor that tends to alienate him from mainstream
moviegoers. That's certainly the case with "Dr. T & the Women."
Just when you think the movie is going to end on a romantic "Pretty
Woman"-style note, Altman pulls the rug out from under you with
one of the most far out endings ever captured on film. Instead of
going mainstream, or at least, mainstream for him, he blows you
away with images that are sure to be ingrained in your mind long
after you leave the theater. In the end, you can say what you like
about the film, because the fact is, there's nothing quite like
it.
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