MovieChat Forums > Patch Adams (1998) Discussion > WHY does nobody like this movie?

WHY does nobody like this movie?


Honestly, I can't wrap my mind around the fact that I can only find about 2 other people who like this movie.

I'm one of those people who cry at everything (and by everything I mean legit everything, including jewelry commercials) and of course, I was bawling from the second the film started right up until the end. I absolutely love it.

I understand the sap-factor of the movie and that it is melodramatic at certain parts, but I feel like it's necessary! Is that the only reason people don't like it? Because I honestly don't think it was a poorly made movie in the least. The acting is great, the part is perfect for Williams, and I think the script is at least decent. The monologue on the cliff is amazing. If you don't like sappy movies, that's your problem, but that's the only reason I've gotten so far as to why people dislike Patch Adams, but almost everyone says they hate the movie.

Can someone please fill me in on reasons people don't like this?! It's a mystery to me, honestly.

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I have just watched this movie with my daughter today & took to looking up here once done.
Sadly, I think despite all it's merits - counting them:

Williams - Great performance;
Potter - Perfect for Williams to play against;
Hoffman - So great at playing this kind of character;
Gunton - You can't ask for a better nemesis in a movie;
The many supporting actors that make the scenes work because of their presence -

But for the simple reason that it does veer toward the sentimental rather than the factual is why it has detractors.
However, I'd guess that some of those are not as staunch as they make out!

Like yourself, I'm a soft touch for the Kleenex and have to do Awakenings in two sittings! Let us continue to enjoy it and be thankful that at least in reality there is someone who cared enough to do this. :-)

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[deleted]

I'll give you that it was unrealistic and probably wasn't an accurate portrayal of the real Hunter Adams' journey through med school, but I think it wasn't a terrible movie. The acting was not bad (I agree, Philip Seymour Hoffman is great in everything), and it over all was not a BAD movie. It's just not for those who don't appreciate 'touching' movies. I think if it was really to be 'sugar coated', Carin would not have died and they would have 'lived happily ever after'. I just really don't think it was a bad film in general, I just think people (especially men) don't like it because of it's sentimental quality. But I dont think it's fair to say it was a poorly made movie.

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[deleted]

I am a male, and I appreciate touching movies like Stand By Me, Ordinary People (even though OP was a bit overrated too) but with Patch Adams, it was like the producers let their sixth grade nieces write the script, especially in the scene where Rudy and Patch blow up invisible squirrels.

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I feel such sympathy for you. You need to take some time to go into a psychiatric hospital to sit and simply observe the behavior of these people, particularly those who are there to get back on their medications, which they stop taking when they are released because they can't afford to buy them... and others who have finally been hospitalized to seek treatment where doctors are going through various medicine regimens to help them reintegrate with the public but again, the MAJOR problem is that once the drug therapy to control the fractured minds of these people is discovered, they are released then like others before them, they find the drugs are so expensive they can't afford to buy them so they stop taking the medications because they can't afford them and the cycle starts all over again with hospitalization to get them back on their meds where they are once again released with perhaps 2-3 days worth of medications along with prescriptions for their pills to control the specific psychiatric problem yet they can't afford them and the appointment card for the next appointment with their therapist, whom they can't afford to pay because few people can provide a roof over their heads, food to survive, and utilities as well as other items necessary to live and add to that the $300 to $600 office bill to see the psychiatrist along with the $500 to $1000 bill to buy their medications.

It's more than obvious that you have never been around anyone who suffers from paranoid delusions. What do you think is more healthy and affordable for a person who has a mind so fractured that the person actually sees animals of any kind be it squirrels, snakes, spiders, or what-have-you... than to teach them to use an imaginary weapon against them that will allow that person the dignity of going to the bathroom without fear or to load them up on drugs then toss them in the street where they can't afford the medications prescribed let alone the fees for the appointment set up for the person to return for therapy? Your claim that this scene was written as if "the producers 6th grade nieces wrote it," is ludicrous. I dare you to spend a couple of days in the direct company of someone who suffers paranoid delusions of this nature. If you have any heart at all, wouldn't you want some way to help that person? If not, you aren't human at all.

It's my personal belief that the reason the critics and a specific group of people didn't like the movie is because of the concept Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams hopes to create one day: A free clinic/hospital where nobody is turned away and everyone receives treatment. If you turn on any Republican television channel (cough... Fox!), all you will hear is how they hate socialism yet they have no problem with police officers protecting the public or school teachers teaching our children or firefighters putting out fires yet when it comes to medicine... Oh Boy the **IT hits the fan then! Should national health care become a reality, which I hope it will because there are hundreds of thousands of people in this country, including myself, my husband, and our oldest daughter, who all have pre-existing health conditions and as such the health insurance companies can't make their fortunes off our backs so they refuse to either insure us at all OR they set the premiums and deductibles so high that nobody can afford them; however, 9 out of 10 times, they simply refuse to insure anyone they can't make a fortune off of and that includes those who are currently insured now. It's happened so many times. I've read articles until my heart is so broken I have to stop where families with health insurance they paid for years suddenly drop their coverage completely when someone in the family happens to do the unthinkable and become sick from a long-term expensive illness that will take away money from the billion-dollar bonus the CEO brings home every year by stiffing the clients all in the name of greed!

I want to know when it became the right thing to do to put a price tag on a human being's life?

Every day there are hundreds of people who are told to take their loved ones home to die when there is treatment available to save their lives yet because of the almighty dollar is the breaking point between saving that life or serving out a death sentence. It's wrong. Nobody should be sent home to die because they can't afford medical care necessary to save their life. This is nothing more than corporate greed ridden genocide!

It's my belief that this is the reason there are so few who openly enjoyed this movie. Dr. Adams believes everyone deserves care - even those who have no hope to survive after all other avenues have failed but he doesn't give up on them even then. He has compassion, which is something many doctors are losing these days because medicine is no longer about the patient; it's all about the Benjamins.

I find it truly sad because I have been to funerals of the last of a dying breed of doctors who used to actually come to a patient's house if they were unable to get to the doctor. I remember the doctor coming to my grandmother's house treating her there when she was too sick to go to his office. I remember when pharmacies delivered medicines to those who couldn't get to the pharmacy to pick them up. In fact, I use one of the few remaining pharmacies that does that very thing. I can't drive anymore because of blindness, which is complicated even more by Lupus (SLE) and Sjogren's disease. The latter two bring about their own series of problems with the primary issue being chronic pain, fatigue, severe osteoporosis, chronic insomnia, brain fog, severe arthritis, joint disease, etc... many other symptoms too numerous to list here. These diseases, all of which have no cure and the latter two are fatal once they begin to damage my vital organs causing them to shut down.

I have a spouse with juvenile diabetes and as of 2009, he's had 2 heart attacks (mild, then massive), a stroke, and had to undergo a quadruple bypass surgery, which is complicating his diabetes now. I've spent hours on the phone over the years trying to get insurance for us. Out of every 10 calls made to health insurance companies, 9 would hang up on me without speaking after I mentioned juvenile diabetes, blindness, and/or Lupus (SLE) and Sjogren's. The other 1% never even bothered to look up a prospective policy. They simply said they were not able to insure us.

I have friends who had insurance but when a family member became deathly ill and required treatment, they were either denied the treatment altogether and/or the health insurance company dropped them and no other insurance company will touch them because of the now... pre-existing conditions. So a CEO has given the sales personnel permission to literally send these people home to die all because of greed.

That's not just my opinion; there are many others who feel the same way so don't think I'm alone. And, I hope one day that Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams is able to build his free clinic and hospital. He has a tremendously long list of doctors willing to give up their practices and where they live to come work with him at his clinic and hospital for the people. I only wish there were more of the public who cared enough to help this dream of caring for everyone vs placing a price tag on a human life by playing greed genocide. It's sickening.

The doctor's oath is to heal. Contrary to popular belief, there is no addendum that states they can only heal the rich and then say to hell with the little people, just let them die because they are not important enough or rich enough to save; they are disposable. NOBODY IS DISPOSABLE!

A large portion of citizens in the United States have health care that equals that of people in third-world countries. If you don't have a problem with this then there has be something wrong with you because in my book, that's not right. The government can afford to spend money on private military and trash and toss out perfectly good machinery all because they don't have the right oil filter so they simply order a new truck... that money can be better put to use by creating a national health care program where nobody is turned away when they need health care be it at an emergency room or a doctor office. It's time for a large number of doctors to heal themselves and that means stop price gouging those who can least afford to pay such outrageous fees for care. Grow a heart and a backbone. After all, who really NEEDS 2 and 4 homes on various continents? Who needs to drive a car that costs more than an average middle-income home? Since when did 2 people require 4000 sq ft of house space paid for by those who can least afford it?

It is time for "WE THE PEOPLE" to get the same health benefits afforded to congress members in which WE pay for through our taxes. We deserve the same right to decent care and access to medications that don't cost more than a mortgage payment here in the US yet is sold for pennies overseas although it's illegal for us to order the same drugs from those countries where it's affordable all because the pharmaceutical companies proclaim the medicines are dangerous. How are they dangerous when the same pharmaceutical companies are selling the exact same drug, just selling it 1000% cheaper in another country outside the United States?

This is what it all boils down to and many won't like it but I'm sure the points I brought up have a lot to do with why this movie hasn't received the favor or the critical acclaim it's due. Patch Adams is a wonderful movie about a wonderful man who has not forgotten why he wanted to become a doctor in the first place - to actually treat patients - not check their account balances before giving care or refusing it. I applaud Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams for what he is trying to do with medicine. He is trying to put a heart back in where it was yanked out by corporate greed.

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[deleted]

It appears you have more arrogance than sympathy. Like the stereotypical America-hating liberal, you take what someone says, and put words and implications in their mouth. America is America, and America runs on money, hospitals being no exception. Its absolutely stupid to tell me I have no compassion when this is about HOW THE MOVIE IS MADE, not your leftwing medical politics. Once you remove the liberal-progressive bias from the picture, then my comments dont seem all that "ludicrous". In my opinion we need more people to uphold the constituition, not communistic hippies turning America into a prison of social restraint. I'm here to discuss movies, and not have someone provoke my political views

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Nobody is "provoking your political views." The only thing being provoked is your human views and it's obvious you have no humanity nor sympathy for those who cannot afford to see a doctor who thinks it's okay to charge $500 to $1000 for their services, which they normally steal from insurance companies then insurance companies come back to the client for most of the balance by claiming they are not responsible for said bill when in fact they are.

America has put a price tag on a human life. That's not right. You scream and jump up and down when a woman has an abortion yet you become all bitchy when someone says something about the over-inflated salaries and costs of receiving health care. You are part of the problem, not the solution. Stop being part of the problem!

Doctors and other medical professionals need to rethink why they went into medicine in the first place. There is nothing in the Hippocratic Oath that states: "Go forth and gain your goldmine at the expense of those who can least afford it" yet you would believe it was if you were among the uninsured and un-insurable. So, stick that in your pipe and smoke it a while.

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Yeah its not human to be realistic and logical. You wanna see a doctor, get a job. Thats a right you have which I would never ever deny you if I was one of the suits. Its just incredible how you liberals with your brain of patchouli mush can accuse people of things theyre not even doing.

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You JERK-OFF, I'd give anything to "get a job," however, that is not going to happen unless you happen to have a cure for the blindness that prevents me from seeing anything beyond an inch or two in front of me not to mention the tunnel vision and loss of central vision. Then you'd have to have a cure to not only control as best as possible the symptoms of Lupus (SLE) and Sjogren's Disease along with the chronic pain, chronic joint disease, chronic fatigue, and hosed immune system for starters so if you can cure these diseases and make it so I can work but also reverse the permanent damage to my joints, bone density, osteoporosis, nerve damage, etc... b/c the damage is done & a cure alone will not allow me to go back to work; I'd need a reversal of all the effects that have damaged my body since Lupus (SLE) & Sjogren's began destroying it! I'd LOVE to go back to work but I have too much nerve damage, joint damage & pain, brain fog that affects concentration, and pain that is never completely gone but somewhat tolerable...

Then there is the issue of the constant colds that become bacterial infections not to mention I am prone to catching the flu. MOF, it took 5mos for me to get over the H1N1 flu. I am currently fighting an upper respiratory infection, which I have been fighting for over 2 months and I am now on my 3rd run of antibiotics. If this does not clear up the infections (sinus infection, throat infection from draining sinuses, ear infections in both ears, and an inner ear infection that causes problems from the infection itself not to mention the vertigo that is the result of having fluid in the inner ear due to infection...

Because I have Lupus (SLE) and Sjogren's disease, no health insurance company will sell me a health care package even if I could afford it because of pre-existing conditions. FYI: Lupus (all forms, not just the SLE, which is the worst of the 4 types & the type I have), Sjogren's disease, nor the hereditary retinal disease have cures so I am stuck with them for life and with the autoimmune diseases, my life will be much shorter than a person without an autoimmune disease. Statistically, someone with these two diseases in the moderate to severe stages, which is where I am currently although it's more severe than moderate now. My mortality rate is listed as 10 years. I've been diagnosed with Lupus (SLE) and Sjogren's disease for 10 years now so any time I have beyond this 10th year is a gift but I don't believe you should have the right to dictate when I will die!

If it were not for medications slowing the progress of Lupus (SLE) and controlling the symptoms as much as they are controllable, I would probably be dead by now but that again is NOT YOUR PLACE TO DICTATE!

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There is another thing you seem to have forgotten with regards to getting a "job to see a doctor." Most businesses are no longer offering health insurance plans for the employees they hire no matter how well they do their jobs by making the CEO a *beep* of money along with the shareholders. It's long overdue for some of that billion-dollar wealth to come back to the people who make thost bastards rich. It's time that companies do as they did in decades past, which is to supply the "Once upon a time..." decent health coverage for those who keep the CEOs in the lifestyles of which they have become accustomed.

Employees are getting sick of making the CEOs richer while they lose everything they own because said CEO is taking away raises, health benefits, and vacation/personal day pay not to mention the CEOs are always gambling away 401K plans that people have spent a lifetime investing in only to find that when they are ready to retire from the company, the CEO has either A) lost the money by gambling it away in the stock market where they put the money in unsafe trading then tell the employees, "too *beep* bad; I guess you'll just have to rely on Social Security Retirement and don't bother trying to come after the CEOs for losing a person's life savings for retirement or B) they have somehow embezzled it or used it where it wasn't supposed to be used and then the employees are out of their money yet through another means with no recourse, or C) the CEOs fire anyone who is even close to retirement so they can't get their 401K money and it ends up somehow in the pockets of the CEO so he can go buy yet another house or send his children on trips to Europe or pay for their college education, an education the average employee will never be able to afford...

One way or another, the little person, aka, the WORKING CLASS are constantly being *beep* on by those who have more money than they can spend in 10 lifetimes!

I say this again because obviously you have the education of a 1st grader: IT IS LONG OVERDUE FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN AND CORPORATE AMERICAN TO STOP PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON A HUMAN LIFE!

You don't seem to think that the elderly have the right to live either huh? The Social Security benefits they rely on is not anywhere close to what they need to survive and by survive, I mean pay for a home to live in, buy groceries, pay utilities, see a doctor, and pay for medications.

It is as if you think that genocide of anyone other the moron class such as yourself are the only ones with the right to live. Well buddy, you are sorely mistaken! It's morons like you that don't care where our tax dollars go or the fact that if the rich were not allowed all those loopholes to get out of paying the taxes they owe, there would be plenty of tax-based income from the rich who steal from the IRS the most, to insure every man, woman, and child who is a United States citizen!

I never wish bad things on anybody but I would like for you to take a walk of about 6 months to a year in the shoes of those you seem to hate because they happened to be disabled through no fault of their own and now find that they can't afford to survive and as you currently sit on your pedestal, you feel they don't deserve to live. You are such a hypocrite but that's okay. Karma comes around and one day it will come around and bite you in the ass. I just hope it takes a big enough chunk out of your backside that you will feel the pain from the hair on your head to the toes on your feet and every part of your body in between then see how much you like being treated as you tend to treat others now. You talk the talk but I guarantee you can't walk the walk. You would be crying like a baby within a week if you were diagnosed with a life-threatening/life-altering disease unable to get insurance or pay for your medical bills and I don't mean having your Mommy & Daddy pay them, I mean you all on your own...

You are the worst kind of hypocrite. The ignorant kind!

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A doctor's paycheck or internal affairs between shareholders is not my business. So of course I'm going to have an outside opinion. You are using your diseases as a shield to shove your arrogance in everyone's face and that to me, is childish. So it would hypocritical of YOU to accuse me of "first grade education", "hypocrit", "hate" and "ignorance". Those are labels that Keith Olbermann of MSNBC (who needless to say no longer works for them) hands out like pamphlets at a baseball game, for his "Worst Person In the World" segments. Childish.

Also I don't belong to any "class", thank you very much, especially if it meant I would shout down other opinions in the anonymity of the internet. Lets think, how did this whole bs start? Because the scene with Patch Adams and his roomie was a stupid and annoying misinterpretation of mental disorders. I don't know how that could serve as a pretext to your medical bill problems and the government's indifference. Thats a classy move you make. This is why you fight the good fight with those that can change the system, not quote, "upperclass" jerkoffs who didnt like a particular movie.

Patch Adams sucks. That movie was very cliched, badly written, and the ending scene in the court was a grandstanding for his narcissism. I call it the worst true story movie made.

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We will see how you respond when you are no longer in your 20s and for some unknown reason to you, something goes wrong with your health and you have to rely on a health care industry that puts greed ahead of your then "pre-existing condition" as they drop you like a bad habit but not before they jack up your rates to a point you cannot afford with premiums you will never meet not to mention when things go so badly that you have no choice but to attempt to file bankruptcy because of your health problems you thought you would never have to face, then you will finally see the proverbial light.

Until then, just enjoy your blissful ignorance while leaving the actual changing of policy to those of us who live it every day as those with diseases and conditions that were never wanted, desired, nor the fault of the person must handle the rocking between corporate greed and the rich-man's genocide of those whom this group believes are the little people yet in time will learn there are far more "little people" than their are rich people and the tides will turn so that one day the rich who think they own the government and the laws will be bound and shackled by their own ignorance and arrogance while the other 98% of the country finally demands and obtains access to health care benefits everyone should have had throughout their lives and future generations will.

So go back to your sandbox to play with the other little kiddies who have no clue about what it is like to live in the real world without Mommy & Daddy bailing all of you out while they still can unless of course you are only angry with me because you were born with a silver, gold, & platinum spoon up your ass. If that's the case, you better enjoy your rank now because one day you won't have it to fall back on. This country's regular working class people will finally stand up together to change the old guard to a new one who will treat everyone as equal when it comes to the chance to live a life in general but especially with regards to access to health care and life-saving medications.

There are takers and givers and you appear to fall within the takers with no regard for those you are taking from because you don't care as long as you can take and take and take. That's greed and it's time you learn that payback is a bitch. Karma is keeping score and Karmic justice does come around sooner or later but it comes around and it will come around to you too in time. Sleep on that one for a while, if you can sleep without the nightmares of times to come.

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Oh okay, I'll just play in my gold rimmed sandbox with the other Lord Fauntleroys and throw a tantrum every time some ragged stranger with a terminal condition begs for my silver coin play money. How long are these cliche's going to continue? I'm not even upper class, as a matter of fact I dont think I'd demand my cut of the Federal Reserve gold if I was terminal. Why wish a disease upon someone when that person would not be as knee-jerk as you about it? I'd be a SAINT if I was going to check out in a couple months.

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Just what condition could I contract with all the vitamins and minerals in my vegetables, those little helpers that are overlooked in the nutrition industry? Taker my ass! If you live off corporate America (Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Hersheys) you will face the ass end of of corporate America ("price tag on human life"). I spend the better part of my food card on produce and if you are praying for disease on me it will go unanswered.

There might be hope for you. I once read about a guy who was off his diabetes meds after four days of eating veggies. EAT YOUR VEGETABLES, AMERICA! THEY REPAIR, MAINTAIN, AND REBUILD!

Hell I even read about a doctor who fed his wife meat on her deathbed and she recovered from her cancer. Some things are just overlooked.

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It's more than obvious that you receive most, if not all, of your information from the trashy tabloids at the check-out counter rather than actual Western and/or Eastern medical journals including alternative herbalist medical journals because you are so far off base you are not on the same planet let alone the same ball field.

Go back to your trashy tabloids where you can read about alien babies. You might not believe your health is important but there are many others who do.

In order to live a life as a vegetarian requires even the most basic understanding of the body's needs. When removing meats, which are high in protein, from the diet it must be replaced elsewhere. In addition, every person has a separate need of specific vitamins and minerals based on height, weight, age, gender, and activity levels as well as any pre-existing medical conditions.

Too much vitamin A causes: headaches, liver damage (which over time will require the need for a partial to complete liver transplant), hair loss, and blurred vision.

Too much vitamin C causes: Diarrhea that can become chronic in nature; if the condition is severe enough, it causes dehydration, loss of potassium, reduction to inability for the tear ducts to work effectively and can lead to anything from corneal abrasions to possible blindness if person overdosing on vitamin C is not stopped. Dehydration can cause the skin to thin and tear making it difficult if not impossible without medical intervention to correct as well as avoid infection, which opens the door to a higher risk for MRSA, which can be lethal if not treated properly and even when treated properly can still cause death. In addition, dehydration cause ultimately cause heart problems that can become irreversible and make the person prone to heart damage from severity of damage to the heart (could also ultimately require heart transplant); dehydration from diarrhea can cause problems with kidney function.

Too much vitamin D aka vitamin D poisoning: Causes health problems such as: Dehydration, vomiting, decreased appetite (Ever hear of anorexia? Trust me when I say it's no fun to live with and it's not something that can be automatically cured because not only is anorexia a physical health condition, it's a psychological condition as well; it requires a daily fight from the moment of diagnosis throughout the rest of the person's life. It is an everyday battle just as one might battle against alcoholism and/or substance abuse...), and irritability. It can cause constipation, which can exacerbate to chronic constipation that can lead to chronic bowel obstruction requiring surgery and possibly living the rest of one's life with a colostomy bag attached to one's stomach in order to pass feces due to bowel tissue damage and necrosis. Then there is the problem of fatigue that can often be misdiagnosed when treated on an outpatient basis since doctors would not have access to exact portions of foods and types that are consumed in a 24hr period.

Excessive vitamin D can cause an abnormal high blood concentration of calcium that can cause problems with the bones, soft tissues, heart, kidneys, and cause a person to be highly prone to kidney stones. It can also cause major problems with bone density and if not caught in time, it could become irreversible.

Overdose of vitamin E: The toxic levels of vitamin E acts as an anticoagulant (ie. a blood thinner). This can cause a risk of bleeding problems. Long-term overdose of vitamin E without immediate medical care can literally cause a person to bleed to death much like that of a person born with hemophilia, otherwise known in layman's terms as a "free-bleeder."

A person with a bleeding disorder can literally suffer internal bleeding from even the slightest fall or getting knocked about in a car accident. This is why anyone who takes an anticoagulant for problems such as heart conditions or hardening of the arteries as is found among those with genetic and dietary/nutritional caused heart conditions are tested frequently. Patients who take medications in specific dosages to thin the blood in order to prevent heart attack, blood clotting, and stroke are emphatically told by medical doctors to come into the office and/or the emergency room should the person experience bloody stools, coughing up blood, or abnormal bruising with no tangible reason for the bruising because these problems can lead to complications if not treated as well as death.

If anyone plans to change their diet, it is always best to seek the advice and assistance of a board certified nutritionist to set up a menu plan to include the appropriate balance in dietary needs so the person in question (including family members when changing the dietary needs of one person in the household is necessary) will receive the safe and appropriate amount of vitamins, minerals, carbs, and sugars in the diet to keep the person healthy. THIS IS WHY EVERY PAMPHLET, BROCHURE, AND OTHER INFORMATION INCLUDED WITH WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS OR NEW EXERCISE REGIMENS ALWAYS STATE TO CONTACT ONE'S DOCTOR BEFORE BEGINNING A WEIGHT/DIET CHANGES TO ENSURE IT DOES NOT CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN IT STATES TO SOLVE!

It is equally as important to get advice from your medical doctor before switching from a standard diet that includes meat to a vegetarian diet. After my DH suffered two heart attacks, a stroke, and had to undergo a quadruple heart bypass surgery, I began to push him a bit harder toward the vegetarian diet our two daughters and I eat. I made an appointment with a nutritionist after she received the medical records necessary in order for her to help setup what requirements he needs to maintain specific diet requirements considering he has a family history of heart disease and high blood pressure not to mention the fact he developed juvenile diabetes when he was about 3 years old. And contrary to popular belief, diabetics (type I and type II) do require a certain amount of sugar in their diet and it can and does come from natural foods grown in a garden or vineyard. He was already on a heart-smart, low-cholesterol, and low-sodium diet before he suffered the heart attacks that left him with severe damage to his heart.

Diabetes was listed among autoimmune diseases a couple years ago because the disease behaves much like other autoimmune diseases. Again, he was already on a low-sodium, low-cholesterol, heart-smart diet before he had the heart attacks. I have been cooking well-balanced meals for 20+ years only in our home, I do not cook meats and his mother does so he eats with her when he wants meat in the diet because I don't cook meats at home. There are great recipes that include a person's daily needs for a balanced diet; however, every person should seek the assistance of a nutritionist and ensure the nutritionist should have access to medical records in order to ensure the diet takes care of any pre-existing conditions and/or family history of health problems. There is heart disease on both sides of my family, maternal and paternal; however, I have only had problems with my heart twice in my life and that was during child labor due to high-risk pregnancies. I was also losing entirely too much weight so our nutritionist had to change our diet to increase specific dietary needs in order to help me gain weight to lessen the danger that was already a part of both pregnancies. I do not have heart damage; however, I do have Lupus (SLE) and Sjogren's and with these diseases, eventually they will begin to attack my vital organs causing them to become so damaged that they will ultimately shut down and I will die unless a cure is found for the autoimmune disease before the damage to my vital organs takes place. The autoimmune diseases have already began the process of damaging my joints, connective muscle tissue, and nerve damage as well as the possibility/high probability of compromising what remains of the small amount of residual vision I have remaining due to a retinal eye disease caused by a recessive gene that just happened to be flipped on vs flipped off. It's much the same with my husband's case of heart problems, high blood pressure, and cholesterol issues. He ate healthy, exercised, and was and continues to be health conscious over what he eats as well as being adamant regarding the dosing of his insulin injections but he also had these genes flipped on vs off and has to live with a family health problem that happened to cause him issues. And just so you know, despite the fact he is not a vegetarian does not mean he does not eat healthy. Prior to the heart attacks and stroke, he did indulge a bit with his diet but not so much as to cause the heart condition that brought about the heart attacks. Today, he is considerably more adamant and very rarely goes off his diet; however, when he does, it is only in small amounts, which will not hurt a person.

YOU ARE CAUSING YOUR OWN HEALTH ISSUES SO WHEN THEY DO HAPPEN, YOU HAD DARN WELL BETTER OWN UP TO WHAT YOU DID TO YOUR BODY! You cannot play fast and loose nor ignorant with your diet and not expect major problems later in life after you spend 10-20 years dumping overdoses of vitamins, minerals, and even iron into your system without expecting a negative outcome, which could ultimately be death... Iron is something else that can cause death when taking in high doses. I'm sure even your trashy tabloids have covered a few articles on children who managed to get their hands on vitamins like the Flintstone or Bubblegum vitamins for kids and taken half a bottle to a whole bottle because some parent wasn't smart enough to put medications high and out of reach of children. Many children every year die from overdose from iron found in vitamins in addition to the damage to their liver when they manage to get into a bottle of Tylenol. Just because these are over-the-counter products does not mean they are safe!

You play however you wish with your diet. Just don't encourage others to follow your reckless protocol without seeking medical advice from their doctor and even a nutritionist to ensure any diet change or weight management regimen is safe for any particular person because more often than not, it can be harmful and even deadly. Just consider yourself warned whether you agree or not. But when I manage to outlive you even with the pre-existing conditions I fight each day, expect an "I told you so," in the end.



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your information from the trashy tabloids at the check-out counter
Go back to your trashy tabloids
I'm sure even your trashy tabloids

An overused shot in the dark I see. Thank you but I didn't want to look at Charlie Sheen's ugly, "brat pack burnout" face.
In order to live a life as a vegetarian...

When did I say "vegetarian"? Is "eat your vegetables" a radical call to arms about diet changes, or is it just to remind people to not overlook whats important?
When removing meats, which are high in protein, from the diet it must be replaced elsewhere.

You can only absorb so much protein at a time, excessive protein can create disease too, and vegetables actually have a small amount of it that the body can do well with. Meat is acid forming and does not alkalize and flush out mucus and pus riddled in the body, in fact it clogs a lot more than it provides protein, and that, madame, is a much bigger cause of constipation.

You also basically answered your own question about vitamins, just don't down a whole bottle of them in supplement form and eat 6 small meals a day and you'll be better off. Its that simple.

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Just don't encourage others to follow your reckless protocol without seeking medical advice from their doctor and even a nutritionist to ensure any diet change or weight management regimen is safe for any particular person because more often than not, it can be harmful and even deadly.

You dont NEED a doctor's consultation to eat more vegetables, genius. Thats if youre pregnant, on medication, have a disease like you, etc. And I hope the rest of you learn from this poor soul, you do not use your diseases as license for lamebrain Rosie'O'Donnell politics: taking shots at people that open their mouth, and shooting your ray guns at invisible bigotry and impropriety, all because you think its "dangerous for the public"

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Paisley1 thank you for saying all I've wanted to say!
U R an incredibly brave person and would love to be your friend
If you would like to email me or even join me on FB I would welcome you!
I don't know if this is allowed but my FB page name is Avonlea Jaide Hyde!
I look forward to hearing from you!

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[deleted]

Hear, hear!

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I've seen it since opening Friday, Dec.1998,l but I think that I can give the reasons for OTHERS disliking [I'm not in the dislike/hate camp here] in that maybe a lot of parts are too mauldin/depressing....there were [as admitted in the "disclaimer-after-the-fact" @the end] a LOT of artistic liberties, which ANY true-story flick has to have emblazoned on the end credits titles..and such, but this was a much needed filn about a very heartwarming doctor!I mean, come on, don't we need more like hnbim these days, and in the old days..who needed as their last words, "you are sick", or even worse,
"it's your fault", even if you're diabetic or what have you by your gurney or your deathbed! BTW I notced how composer Marc Shaiman's attracted to a lot of these "Follow your dreams" flicks--
"Hairspray" being another, but that was with the musical as well..

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hahahaha this has nothing to do with anything! i find it amusing you are praising hunter adams when this movie disrespected him and his work. Not only that, it completely insulted the murder of a man in order to insert some cliche love-interest. all of what you wrote doesn't defend this movie. you're just derailing and trying to please an english teacher.

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Caroline Anne:

You must be a child because sweetheart, I loved this movie and I have seen too many people die simply because they don't have the billions of dollars to pay for medical care and medication to save their lives yet practically every other country in the free world has medical care that doesn't cost the people who need it.

As for impressing some English teacher (English is capitalized BTW) I graduated college more than 20 years ago. In fact, I have a daughter who is working on her 4th degree! So it's time you get your facts straight before opening your ignorant mouth before shoving your foot so far down it you have teeth marks on your thighs!

Get over yourself. Chances are high that you still live at home with Mommy & Daddy and they still foot all your bills including medical. Wait until you don't have parents to cover your bills and you have to do itself without any assistance from anyone!

You can pull your foot out of your mouth now! I'm sure an ER doctor would love to treat your injuries but remember they are only required to "stabilize you" so if you have infection or require surgery they feel is elective and not life-saving (which is all a matter of perspective), if you're on your own, you are seriously SOL!

Now go cry to someone who gives a damn because I don't. You deserve any and all medical hardship that comes your way. Remember, karmic payback is a bitch and she always comes to collect.



"My stories propel mundane lives into magical worlds where all is possible." -Paisley

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Well Bridget52492, I'll bet you'll never ask that question again. My God.

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Well Bridget, I'll bet you wish you never asked that question...My Gaaawd.

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Have you seen Michael Moore's SiCKO?

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Actually, I have & it goes to show just how crappy our medical system is when compared to other countries.

The US may possess the greatest medical advances & technology but what good is having it when only the top 1% of the public have access to it? Oh wait, then there are those who come from other countries where doctors donate their time & the hospitals donate their facilities to help foreigners for FREE YET THEY WON'T HELP US CITIZENS! There's no logic in the manner of how our medical system works. The medical professionals have no problem helping those who will surely die when they living in foreign countries yet they have no problem in telling families here in the US that we should take our loved ones home and let them die b/c they cannot treat them, which translates into: they refuse to treat them b/c there's no high-end PR to further their careers when someone from this country is ill and modern medicine can save them yet if they don't have billions of dollars or are born in the wrong country (USA), they are SOL; then kicked to the curb and left to die.



"My stories propel mundane lives into magical worlds where all is possible." -Paisley

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Don't worry OBAMACARE IS COMING! (sarcasm off).

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Sad!
Really Sad!

It is too bad this sort of thing can't be funded and Iraq can be. Somehow we have a weird set of priorities. Killing is better than caring.

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Great movie, great story, great cast.
I liked it a lot.
Maybe others dont like it but I dont care. Reasons? Maybe because the whole environment of patch adams stands for helping people and not asking money in return. In society where money rules... Go to Wall street, I guess nobody who works there will like this movie.

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this is such a great movie. im a 21 year old male, who usually doesnt like sentimental movies, but this is one of my favorites. i just liked everything about it. people who hate on movies expect movies to be real life. its a MOVIE. go watch a biography if u want 100 percent real life stuff. take it for what it is. a family comedy that is very funny. robin williams was the perfect choice for patch adams

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I agree (for the most part) with stlunatic5.

I'm not going to tell you that Robin Williams "can do no harm" he's made some CRAP movies... this is not one of them. Is it for everyone? Nope.

I will end this post with a quote that is paraphrased from said movie...

"...in the future, I think matters like this could best be solved if you, yourself, would practice a little... Excessive Happiness."

"Pretend it's all pretend." ~Sy Parrish

[email protected]

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Yeah well I'm a 27 year old male, and I know that its not in the casting choices. "Hook" had a perfect cast and that movie was terrible, random, and overblown eroding my interest after a while even as an 11 year old kid. And it's just a MOVIE? Really? Well then! I guess I'll take that lesson with me when I log off, after all I don't suppose many people prefer their break from reality to have at least mild entertainment value.

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Because it is so f'ing sad!

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because of his idiotic comment.

only humans kill their own species.

it's not true.

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The argument is incomplete, it's supposed to be "only humans kill their own species because they can". In nature, killing is necessary, there is a reason why they kill. However, what reason do humans have to kill each other? In nature animals try their best to avoid killing, even among themselves, let's say, between two rivaling wolf packs trying to take control of the same turf.

Also, of all the comments in the whole movie, you found the only factually incorrect to be the best example to bring up why the dialogue is poor. That's the relative fallacy.

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@leatelamon --- "In nature, killing is necessary, there is a reason why they kill. However, what reason do humans have to kill each other? In nature animals try their best to avoid killing, even among themselves, let's say, between two rivaling wolf packs trying to take control of the same turf."
You write complete rubbish fluently - congratulations.
'In nature animals try their best to avoid killing.' Wow.

You've got red on you

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Humans kill other humans for 1 of 2 reasons and those reasons are, in no specific order:

1. Greed
2. Hate

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With the exception of an animal whose has gone rogue (ie... The Ghost and the Darkness, based on a true story of two lions who killed many workers building a railway bridge in Tsavo), animals only kill to survive starvation.

I studied and did research in the area of wolf packs, gorillas, and other pack-animals. The goal of the up-comer within the pack is not to kill the Alpha within the pack; it is to take over the position from a Beta to an Alpha. The behavior is to cause the current Alpha to cower beneath the up-comer Beta who wants to take over as head of the pack, not necessarily kill the Alpha but as in everything in nature, death has occurred. In the case of a long-time Alpha of a pack, death is only imminent to some degree when the Beta fights for positioning and the current Alpha is much older and not as quick or as strong to fight off the advances of a Beta.

Most guide dog schools teach students who are training with a guide dog how to obtain and maintain the Alpha position when it comes to the handler-guide dog team. It comes with little difficulty for the most part while on class; however, there is a time once the student and guide dog return home and are working together that the new guide dog will begin to attempt to see just how far he/she can push the handler, which can easily be construed as the dog's attempt to retake the role of Alpha, as it is something that is bred into them over centuries, still exists and for good reason when taking into consideration the wolf packs of the wild. It is up to the handler to make it through this time referred to often as the "honeymoon" period where the handler has to maintain the Alpha role in order for the team to work together well. Most handler-guide dog teams do well without the need for a home visit for extra assistance but there are a few cases where trainers have had to come out to give a bit of extra help when it comes to strengthening the handler's Alpha position and ensuring the guide dog understands and remains within the confines of the Beta role without losing the one safety net for guide dog handlers and that safety net is referred to as "intelligent disobedience."

"Intelligent disobedience," is best explained rather than attempted to be defined. Consider the fact of my desire to walk across the road and I hear no cars or other vehicles on the road that may cause me danger (this was a big problem prior to the audible signal being put in at our stoplight that sits between where I live and crosses over into the downtown district where the businesses are including the Town Hall, a coffee cafe, post office, hardware store, etc.... The audible signal was necessary not because we had too much traffic; it was necessary because there is far too little traffic and with too little traffic, it is not easy to tell when it is safe to cross the road even with a guide dog's senses at my side) but say I give my guide dog the command, "forward, find the curb;" which means he is to cross the street and take me to the curb on the other side. If a vehicle is coming and I don't hear it, the guide dog will disobey my command using his reasoning skills realizing there is danger in our path so he uses this "intelligent disobedience" to keep me safe. This is NOT something one must depend on solely but it is nice to have.

If I'm in a department store and cannot find a safe way to where I need to go, I can give my guide dog the command to go forward and if it's not safe, he will stay - again, this is intelligent disobedience; however, I can put my hands or my foot out in front of me to feel for the obstacle in front of me to determine what is causing my guide to refuse to take me forward. If I cannot find a safe way out, I can give another command to, "Find the way." Find the Way is a command that lets my guide dog know that I can't figure out where to go to get out of the area where we are safely so I am depending upon him (or her if my current guide happened to be a female as my previous guide dog was, may she rest in peace) to find the safest route away from where we are to get us both safely to the other side and out of the danger zone of obstacles, any of which could cause me to trip and fall, which could cause major damage for me particularly as I have weak brittle bones from osteoporosis (chronic), joint disease (chronic), and could easily break a bone or worse.

But as for humans, we are the top of the food chain, which is a pity at times because of the fact that humans kill and normally it is out of greed and hatred, not survival. Just look at the attack on Iraq. Our military was sent into a sovereign country without probable cause. Humans have killed plenty more than any one animal on this planet and at least we can give the animal a pass because carnivorous animals only hunt for food, not for sport. There is nothing more sickening to me in the world than a hunter who sports his/her kills on the wall for all to see. That is wasteful and will be the ultimate cause of the extinction of more and more animals until we have none left for our future descendants to enjoy. Even on wildlife reserves and with animals on the endangered species list, there are always going to be poachers. I find it sad that the animals are able to tote a shotgun or a high-powered rifle to take aim at the sport hunter! At least then it would be fair fight.

It is my hope that one day someone will drop kick Sarah Palin out of her plane where she hunts wolves from the air and then give the wolves a chance to give her a little payback!

In my family, it has always been a given that you only hunt what you eat. When I stopped eating wild game, I stopped hunting altogether. I continued to go to the target range to keep my skills intact before the retinal eye disease came into my life and turned it upside down but still, the only handling I do with a shotgun, rifle, pistol, or even a bow is at the target range or the turkey-shoot held by the Lions Club each year. My husband and his brother serve as a "sight'er" for me at the turkey-shoot for the Lions Club and my husband or my dad (step-dad but he's more my dad than the bastard that raised me). I prefer going to the range with my step-dad because he is a former police detective. He taught me a lot of tips and tricks to get better aim with a pistol in the years before the retinal disease. Then there was a former guy friend and then a beau who I used to go out bow-hunting with during bow season for deer; however, even then, we only hunted what we needed and could eat and no more. It wasn't a sport and we didn't take trophies as that is, at least to me, disrespectful to the animal who gave it's life to give us food to last through the winter. Of course this was during the years before I gave up meat although, I do still eat seafood as do both my daughters.

We just can't quite bring their dad completely over to the vegetarian side. LOL! He can go a few days to almost a week but after that, he needs something broiled, boiled, baked, or grilled; however, it's always lean, low-fat, low-sodium, heart-smart, and only seasoned using natural herbs I've grown or my aunt has brought to me (she is an herbalist and is actually working with a doctor on the dangers of strengthening the immune system for those with autoimmune diseases because it causes the disease to spread and cause more damage even faster. Think of it as "feeding the beast," with the beast being the autoimmune disease. She suffers with Celiac and Lichen Planus). DH doesn't mind seasoning with herbs straight from the little herb garden I keep or those I've dried and stored or my aunt has brought to me dried and stored. Our only issue is over the use of pepper. I can remember when I was only a few years old I wanted to know what pepper smelled like. I was so curious, much like my youngest daughter is today and she is considered the "mother's curse child" as she is a lot like me. Before anyone could stop me, I poured some pepper in my hand and smelled it. It lit my nose and sinus cavities on fire and I had to have them flushed at the ER. Since then I have hated black pepper. I don't mind pepper corn I use in the pepper mill or the sea-salt, which is actually better for you than regular salt, in the salt grinder; however, I prefer to use natural herbs or make my own hot sauce mixes to add spice to various dishes. When his mother cooks, she always separates out my veggies before she adds any pepper to them. I adore that woman... I know most married couples have a husband or the wife who doesn't get along with the MIL but I am among the fortunate. I have a great MIL.

My MIL and I even plant and grow organic vegetables in a garden at her house. Lupus/Sjogren's, the medications to control both and the symptoms, as well as the retinal disease do not mix well with sunlight. If I go out unprotected from the sun or for extended periods, it can further damage my retinas and I begin to feel severely fatigued from the sun. So, I tend to help in the evening hours after the sun is almost gone or before it comes up but once the sun is up, I minimize my exposure as best as I can. Even my medications have warning labels to avoid direct sun exposure while taking them. But we manage.

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This movie is like the kid's tv show Barney (with the purple dinasaur). Young kids LOVE Barney. Kids love that sweetness, and they probably need it as part of their growing up. Most adults can't abide the unadulterated sweetness of Barney. The Patch Adams movie is like Barney. Patch Adams is a good children's movie, but unlike Shrek, it is not a childrens' movie that adults can also enjoy.

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[deleted]

First off, plenty of people like this movie. It's got an average imdb rating of around 6, and it really ought to be around 2, so plenty of people must be giving it 8s and 9s.

I could go on and on about why I hate it, but I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version. It's a terrible movie. It's phony and manipulative, and it's "hero" is an overbearing megalomaniac who is frantically desperate to be the center of attention of any room he steps into. It's yet another role where Robin Williams indulges grotesquely in his two most annoying traits as an actor -- doing Robin Williams standup material while ostensibly playing a character role, and becoming maudlin in an attempt to yank on the viewers' heartstrings. The entire movie is phony. Terrible, manipulative movie.

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Oh shut up and go back to your documentaries on Dr. Kervorkian.

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I liked it. And I liked the sentiment, too. It's not just about treating people with humanity and humor, it's about upsetting the establishment. Sometimes that's exactly what the doctor ordered (maybe a little bit of pun intended).

Robin Williams is one of the great actors of our time. He's able to dial the knob from outrageous comedy to deep drama in a heartbeat, and maintaining a consistency of character while doing that is extremely difficult. Throughout his career he's been able to mix those dramatic acting chops with his manic sense of humor flawlessly. Some movies require more of one than the other, but almost all of them have required him to do some kind of mix of the two, and that's what makes him such a brilliant actor.

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YAY! I'm so glad to hear other people loved this movie too. I came on here expecting to see the rating to be a 7 or 8 average at least, and got the shock of my life. Far out! I don't know if people -actually- didn't like that movie, or just think they are above liking it. Whatever the deal is, people... you gotta lighten up and enjoy the movie for what it's worth - take it at face value.

I never sleep. I hate those little slices of death.

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I loved this movie.

You're just a freak...like ME!

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Same, I was surprised, I expected at least a 7, and then you see truly CRAP MOVIES out there, hm, random picking which bothered for a while, Saw, which has I think an 8 as average rating. What would ever make Saw more superior than this as a movie?

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I think it has a lot to do with that Saw is something that's still new and out there and people have a mentality of 'oh it's new! Oh, the critics say it's great! Oh, it's something to go do, let's go see it!', whereas this movie is over a decade old and it doesn't get as much publicity anymore. I'm just glad I found out about it though, I rented it from the video store when they still had VHS tapes, then they cleared them all out and only had DVDs and they didn't have this so I got a copy for Christmas, and I got them a copy and I gave a copy to the library, and some people have been checking them out. So, the older movies will never have the popularity like the new 'hot' item movies, but what we can do is put the word out that hey, there are great movies out there, you just gotta look, and this is one of them, and everybody should see it.

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Saw was not a better movie, it was just more entertaining.

Saw also didn't set up a happy-go-lucky character who you get invested in and then piss all over his life throughout. It was just an original horror film with a unique (though ridiculous) premise that insisted on itself and protagonists that were pathetic enough that watching them suffer is actually comical at times.

Patch *!*$^#@ Adams, on the other hand, does the exact opposite.

I'm sorry. I enjoyed the first few minutes when Patch was in the mental institution and liked his character instantly. The movie establishes a very likable character and excellent moral idea of making others happy, not caring about money and just being good. Then, because it's Hollywood and the moviemakers feel this movie would be better served by creating pathos, his love-interest, who you also learn to appreciate in the movie gets killed off at random in a senseless act by a person they befriended (something that didn't happen to the supporting character in the real-life inspiration for this film btw - she is alive and well today). I couldn't stand Pay It Forward for the exact same reason - apparently killing off main characters for no seeming reason other than to invalidate your own moral message makes movies more gritty and real. At least the death of the young kid in American History X serves a purpose, although I didn't like that movie's ending either.

This movie, from a technical aspect, is actually quite well done. For the most part, the plot flows well and makes sense and the characters are quite good. I liked the acting in this film, for the most part. Robin Williams was a great choice for the lead. I just can't forgive a film like this, that makes you care and then slaps you in the face.

[/2 cents]

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My biggest problem with this movie is that the characters are a bit too obvious- especially Robin Williams.

I like it when he plays he complex character, who is charming, but also kind embittered like in "Good Will Hunting".

You don't have to make it to the last scene, to think that Robin Williams' character is heavy-handed.

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Too obvious how? I think he did a perfect job of playing Patch.

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His heavy-handed portrayal of Patch Adams made me yearn for a visit from Dr. Kevorkian.

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The movie did very well at the box office when it was released. But it was all a bit obvious and sentimental.

Its that man again!!

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