WHAT???


25/100 on Metascore?!?!? REALLY??????

I just now finished watching this movie on AMC (I had it recorded on DVR) and it was absolutely amazing! I look at it as almost a perfect film. The acting was spot-on by everyone. Robin Williams, as usual, was perfect. Gunton playing the dean made him a character you'd love to hate.

So, out of curiosity, I come to IMDB just to see what everyone else thought of this incredibly moving film, only to find out that it has a 25 out of 100 rating on Metascore and a 6.3 rating by users.

Do you people not know a good movie when you see it?

This is definitely one of the most underrated movies of all time. I would easily give this movie a very well-deserved 9.5/10. I just don't get why it has such a low rating. I've seen crappy sequels to horror movies and ridiculous Adam Sandler movies that have gotten higher ratings than this movie.

Fix it, IMDB! Learn to enjoy a movie!

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I don't get it either except, the only thing I can figure is there must be a lot of people who hate what Patch stands for, or they hate the way Hollywood glorified it all and changed a lot of what really happened. Either way it's still a good movie so I don't get it.

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"...the only thing I can figure is there must be a lot of people who hate what Patch stands for.."
Sorry to let you know but the real Patch Adams did not like this movie at all. He felt it sacrificed much of his message in the name of making a buck on the movie. He was not happy that his serious efforts as an activist for better medical care and training were reduced to him merely coming off as a funny doctor.
As the real Patch told Roger Ebert; "I hate that movie!"

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Upon hearing of the death of Robin Williams, he released this statement. "The terrible news of the passing of Robin Williams reached me here in the Peruvian Amazon late Monday night with tremendous sadness. Surrounded by over 100 friends and clowns on our annual clown trip, we mourn this tragic loss and continue to treasure his comic genius. Robin Williams was a wonderful, kind and generous man. One important thing I remember about his personality is that he was unassuming—he never acted as if he was powerful or famous. Instead, he was always tender and welcoming, willing to help others with a smile or a joke. Robin was a brilliant comedian—there is no doubt. He was a compassionate, caring human being. While watching him work on the set of the film based on my life—Patch Adams–I saw that whenever there was a stressful moment, Robin would tap into his improvisation style to lighten the mood of cast and crew. Also, I would like to point out, Robin would be especially kind toward my children when they would visit the set. Contrary to how many people may view him, he actually seemed to me to be an introvert. When he invited me and my family into his home, he valued peace and quiet, a chance to breathe—a chance to get away from the fame that his talent has brought him. While early in life, he turned to drug use and alcohol to escape, he replaced the addiction with moments of solitude to help cope with the stress that fame brought. This world is not kind to people who become famous, and the fame he had garnered was a nightmare. While saddened, we are left with the consequences of his death. I’m enormously grateful for his wonderful performance of my early life, which has allowed the Gesundheit Institute to continue and expand our work. We extend our blessings to his family and friends in this moment of sadness. Thank you for all you’ve given this world Robin, thank you my friend."

Just sayin.

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While it is certainly not a masterpiece it is a beautiful film. Robin Williams gives a great performance and it truly makes the viewer appreciate the goodness in life.

My guess as to why it holds such a low rating on here and other movie sites is due to the cynicism of the voting populous. I know that an upbeat story line does make for a decent film, but nor does it produce a poor film. The positive aspect of this film is frowned upon by the majority of users.

Also, it deviates from the true story to some respect. However, most true stories follow this formula.

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1) This movie was disgustingly sappy and manipulative.
2) The sentimentality was phony and not earned.
3) The death was played horribly.
4) It was completely absurd and insulted the real Patch who had humor AND medical skill, whereas this movie made him look like a magician.

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[deleted]

The best way to see everything that's wrong with this movie is probably to read a good review, or see the review made by the Nostalgia Critic, it's a typical "feel good" Movie, so yeah you might enjoy it the first time, but when you read into it, it's really quite horrible, and the Patch Adams portrayed in the movie is nothing like the real Patch Adams, the love interest is 100% fictional. imo this movie should be below 6.0 as I've seen movies in the 6.3-6.5 that are a lot better.

Here's what the Doctor Patch Adams thought.(Quote taken from Wikipedia):
The 1998 film Patch Adams was based on Adams' life and views on medicine. Adams has criticized the film, saying it eschewed an accurate representation of his beliefs in favor of commercial viability. He said that out of all aspects of his life and activism, the film portrayed him merely as a funny doctor.

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Bob Gunton is the ONLY reason I will watch this movie. (I am in love with him.) To be quite honest,I have fast-forwarded to the scenes in which he appears,so I've seen the movie bit by bit as opposed to watching it from beginning to end.

His character is not the scumbag he's made out to be. He's a voice of reason. "Patients don't need to be entertained.They don't need a friend.They need a doctor".

Exactly.

If, G-d forbid,I'm laid up in the hospital,I would rather have the standard doctor who refers to me as the "patient in room three with a ruptured appendix" than some sappy,vomit-inducing,clown-shoe wearing doctor who'll try to amuse me.

I do not give a damn if you refer to me by a number or if you call me "that patient". Just fix me up and make me well.

Doctors DO need to prevent transferring their feelings onto patients. If a doctor becomes emotionally involved with a patient then he/she will lose objectivity.

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I haven't seen the movie yet but I've read about it and I'm inclined to agree with you (Corinna) on general principle. I would expect the movie to annoy me for the same reason a lot of 'new-age' self-help books annoy me. The counter-culture of the sixties spawned a very arrogant and infantile approach to life's difficult questions: just drop acid or get rid of money or get in touch with yourself or the one-ness of reality. Learn to laugh at everything and be your own best friend while losing your ego (hmmm....) Be here now. Live in the moment. This philosophy reduces us to gurgling babies or less. And people who adopted this philosophy looked down on everyone else as 'uptight' and unenlightened. This is symbolized by Adams, representing the counter-culture, holding the dying man's hand instead of his wife, who has left the room. The hint is that dying people need Mr. Clownshoe more than genuine loved ones. It reminds me of teachers who say they love your children but can't think of their names. My impression is that Patch Adams practiced before he had a license. This strikes me as narcissistic and dangerous. I'm not dismissing the importance of bedside manner or the patient's need for emotional support, but that is worthless without sober medical competence. So I suspect I would find this film pretty irritating.

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I saw the real Patch Adams at a benefit rock concert over the weekend. The concert was being held to raise money for his hospital. At intermission he came out and spoke... and spoke... and spoke...

He would not shut up.

The audience, mostly middle-aged rock fans, were polite and respectful at first, but when Dr. Adams started to spew some of his obviously communist sympathies, they quickly soured on him and he was almost booed off the stage. He spins a nice impression of a loving and humane doctor, but underneath is a hate-filled, hardline communist who would be just as content as the commandant of a gulag as that of a hospital administrator. I vowed then and there never to give that vile, fake hippie a single dime.

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Communist, how? Who does he hate?

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"but underneath is a hate-filled, hardline communist who would be just as content as the commandant of a gulag as that of a hospital administrator"
That's quite the fantasy assessment of a man's life from merely seeing him speak on one given day at a rock concert. He's done more for people on many other given days in his life as an activist for patients and better medical training and care than most people will ever do in their whole lives.

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Let's see...

* Protagonist is a Gary Stu, never studies yet is somehow at the top of the class, breaks almost every ethics guideline and multiple laws, takes crazy risks that could have gotten people hurt or killed without plot armor, and is portrayed as being completely in the right for all this.

* The female doc follows his advice and gets killed because of it, yet he's presented with none of the blame.

* Antagonists are ridiculous strawmen.

* Everything is black-and-white. There's no middle ground presented at all. Either act like an ice-cold robot or a completely unprofessional clown. The option of balancing professionalism with bedside manner seemingly doesn't exist in this story.

* Sickeningly sentimental diabetes-inducing "feel-good" crap while ignoring or glossing over the unfortunate implications presented. It's like a moving Thomas Kinkade painting viewed through petroleum-smeared goggles after drinking half a gallon of high fructose corn syrup and being unable to cleanse your palette.

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Adding to what you said,

*They completely ignore the death of a REAL person (a MALE close friend of Hunter Adams), just so they could throw in a cheap love interest.

*The real Hunter "Patch" Adams, never practiced without a license, never stole from a hospital, and actually worked hard to get where he is.

*The movie as a whole was just a poorly written excuse to get in a "major medical is the devil" message.

*They portrayed Hunter Adams as JUST A *beep* CLOWN. (In my opinion, the worst offense)

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