Running time: 121 minutes
Starring: Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton
Rating 7 out of 10
Robin Williams champions laughter as the best medicine, and brings both the manic improv and beardy compassion sides of his game to bear on this rather sentimental but agreeable (based-on-a-true) story. Maverick med student Patch Adams (Williams) shakes off a history of suicidal depression when he discovers that connecting with patients through humour not only aids recovery, but gives him a lift too. Needless to say, orthodox physician authorities as embodied by lab-coated martinet Bob Gunton and fussy room-mate Philip Seymour Hoffman are horrified, but his methods win support from nerdy chum Daniel London and - eventually - from fresh-faced Martha Meets...beauty Monica Potter.
Director Tom Shadyac and screenwriter Steve Oedekerk have jollied this up into a feelgood extravaganza (apart from one shocker twist you'll never see coming) which may prove too sickly for some, but this movie is all about buying into a particular philosophy, and with Williams as charismatic as ever, it's an irrepressible display of emotion and joy that's rather hard to dislike.
