Doc Hollywood
Encyclopedia
Doc Hollywood is a 1991 American
romantic comedy film
based on the book, What? Dead...Again?, by Neil B. Shulman
, M.D. The film stars Michael J. Fox
, Julie Warner
, Woody Harrelson
and Bridget Fonda
. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones
. The filming took place in Micanopy, Florida
.
Ben's cross-country drive in a 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster
to become a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon is interrupted when he crashes in the rural hamlet of Grady, South Carolina
. The crash is through the fence of local Judge Evans (Roberts Blossom
), who sentences him to community service at a nearby hospital. Ben offers to pay for the fence, but the stern judge increases his community service each time he talks back.
Defeated, he reports to the hospital, where Nurse Packer (Eyde Byrde) humbles him by ordering him to clock in and out, as would a factory worker.
Though upset, Ben quickly makes friends with Mayor Nick Nicholson (David Ogden Stiers
), the town cafe's proprietor/head waitress (Frances Sternhagen
), and Melvin (Mel Winkler
), the local mechanic tasked with repairing Ben's car. Ben soon finds his clinic work much more laid-back than the emergency room. His are simple cases such as spots before the eyes (from an elderly patient not cleaning her glasses), fishing hook impalings, and even reading mail for a young illiterate couple, whose baby he later delivers.
The experience also humbles Ben when he mistreats a case of mitral valve regurgitation leading to late cyanosis
in the child. The town's curmudgeonly doctor, Aurelius Hogue (Barnard Hughes
), orders Ben to give the boy a Coca-Cola
. Dismissing Hogue's treatment as quackery
, Ben calls for a helicopter to transport the boy to another facility in Athens, Georgia
, to see a heart specialist. Hogue learns the boy had chewed his father's tobacco and explains the carbonic acid
component of the soda would relieve his stomachache.
The two doctors finally bond when Ben saves Hogue after he suffers a near-fatal heart attack. Since Hogue is champing at the bit to retire, Ben is urged by the folksy locals to stay -- it pays only $35,000 a year (a fair amount of money with a low cost of living) but is made tempting by his budding romance with a tomboyish ambulance driver, Vialula (Julie Warner
), better known as "Lou". She is a single mother to four-year old Emma, the product of a relationship she had with a former boyfriend while living in New York.
Ben confides that he grew up in a small town
in rural
Indiana
, where his parents lived and died, and can't see himself confined to a small town.
Lou is also pursued by Hank Gordon (Woody Harrelson
), a local insurance salesman. One day, Hank waits for Ben at the mayor's lakeside lodge, where Ben has been staying. Ben expects a fight, but Hank explains that though he can't give Lou what Ben can, he's still a better man for her. After the two men talk, Ben comes to realize he's not selfless enough for a life with Lou and plans to not see her anymore.
Ben is pardoned from community service after saving Hogue, and is free to go to California after his car is fixed. He shows signs of maturity from his experience in Grady and has become attached to his patients. Putting career first, he leaves.
On the west coast, Ben's new boss Dr. Halberstrom (George Hamilton
) hires him at the interview, thanks to an unexpected letter of recommendation from Hogue. But Ben quickly tires of the superficiality of Beverly Hills. He's surprised by the Mayor's daughter Nancy Lee (Bridget Fonda
) and Hank, who have fled Grady to come to California. Hank tells Ben he took his own advice to "do what a man's gotta do." Ben, seeing an opportunity at true happiness, returns to Grady, hoping to patch things up with Lou, who takes him back.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
based on the book, What? Dead...Again?, by Neil B. Shulman
Neil B. Shulman
Neil Barnett Shulman is an Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at Emory University. He has conducted and published clinical research on hypertension and is the co-founder of the International Society of Hypertension in Blacks. He is the author of many books promoting medical literacy for...
, M.D. The film stars Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
, Julie Warner
Julie Warner
Juliet Mia "Julie" Warner is an American actress.-Early life:Warner was born in Manhattan, New York. Her mother, Naomi, is a literary agent, an independent marketing consultant, and a licensing director. Her father, Neil Warner, is a jingle composer, a pianist, and an arranger...
, Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
and Bridget Fonda
Bridget Fonda
Bridget Jane Fonda is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown...
. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Michael Caton-Jones
Michael Caton-Jones is the director of such films as Scandal, Rob Roy, Memphis Belle and The Jackal...
. The filming took place in Micanopy, Florida
Micanopy, Florida
Micanopy is a town in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is south of Gainesville. The population in the 2000 census was 653. As of 2004, the population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 652...
.
Plot
Dr. Benjamin Stone (Michael J. Fox) is a hotshot young surgeon who longs to leave the drudgery of a Washington, D.C. emergency room and finally leaps at his chance at more money (for repaying his med school debts) and less death as a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. On his last day, Ben's relationship with his co-workers is presumed to be anything but a warm one. None of his colleagues will join him for a drink, and a cake in his honor has an iced portion of the phrase "Good riddance, asshole" sliced out.Ben's cross-country drive in a 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster
Porsche 356
The Porsche 356 was the company's first production automobile. It was a lightweight and nimble handling rear-engine rear-wheel-drive 2 door sports car available in hardtop coupe and open configurations. Design innovations continued during the years of manufacture, contributing to its motorsports...
to become a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon is interrupted when he crashes in the rural hamlet of Grady, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The crash is through the fence of local Judge Evans (Roberts Blossom
Roberts Blossom
Roberts Scott Blossom was an American theater, film and television actor and poet. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in Home Alone and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film Deranged...
), who sentences him to community service at a nearby hospital. Ben offers to pay for the fence, but the stern judge increases his community service each time he talks back.
Defeated, he reports to the hospital, where Nurse Packer (Eyde Byrde) humbles him by ordering him to clock in and out, as would a factory worker.
Though upset, Ben quickly makes friends with Mayor Nick Nicholson (David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
), the town cafe's proprietor/head waitress (Frances Sternhagen
Frances Sternhagen
Frances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.-Personal life:...
), and Melvin (Mel Winkler
Mel Winkler
Mel Winkler is an American film and TV actor. Though he mostly takes on minor live-action roles, he is probably best known as the voice of the guardian mask Aku Aku in the Crash Bandicoot series, and Johnny Snowman in the TV series Oswald....
), the local mechanic tasked with repairing Ben's car. Ben soon finds his clinic work much more laid-back than the emergency room. His are simple cases such as spots before the eyes (from an elderly patient not cleaning her glasses), fishing hook impalings, and even reading mail for a young illiterate couple, whose baby he later delivers.
The experience also humbles Ben when he mistreats a case of mitral valve regurgitation leading to late cyanosis
Cyanosis
Cyanosis is the appearance of a blue or purple coloration of the skin or mucous membranes due to the tissues near the skin surface being low on oxygen. The onset of cyanosis is 2.5 g/dL of deoxyhemoglobin. The bluish color is more readily apparent in those with high hemoglobin counts than it is...
in the child. The town's curmudgeonly doctor, Aurelius Hogue (Barnard Hughes
Barnard Hughes
Bernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
), orders Ben to give the boy a Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. Dismissing Hogue's treatment as quackery
Quackery
Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...
, Ben calls for a helicopter to transport the boy to another facility in Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, to see a heart specialist. Hogue learns the boy had chewed his father's tobacco and explains the carbonic acid
Carbonic acid
Carbonic acid is the inorganic compound with the formula H2CO3 . It is also a name sometimes given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water, because such solutions contain small amounts of H2CO3. Carbonic acid forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates...
component of the soda would relieve his stomachache.
The two doctors finally bond when Ben saves Hogue after he suffers a near-fatal heart attack. Since Hogue is champing at the bit to retire, Ben is urged by the folksy locals to stay -- it pays only $35,000 a year (a fair amount of money with a low cost of living) but is made tempting by his budding romance with a tomboyish ambulance driver, Vialula (Julie Warner
Julie Warner
Juliet Mia "Julie" Warner is an American actress.-Early life:Warner was born in Manhattan, New York. Her mother, Naomi, is a literary agent, an independent marketing consultant, and a licensing director. Her father, Neil Warner, is a jingle composer, a pianist, and an arranger...
), better known as "Lou". She is a single mother to four-year old Emma, the product of a relationship she had with a former boyfriend while living in New York.
Ben confides that he grew up in a small town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, where his parents lived and died, and can't see himself confined to a small town.
Lou is also pursued by Hank Gordon (Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
), a local insurance salesman. One day, Hank waits for Ben at the mayor's lakeside lodge, where Ben has been staying. Ben expects a fight, but Hank explains that though he can't give Lou what Ben can, he's still a better man for her. After the two men talk, Ben comes to realize he's not selfless enough for a life with Lou and plans to not see her anymore.
Ben is pardoned from community service after saving Hogue, and is free to go to California after his car is fixed. He shows signs of maturity from his experience in Grady and has become attached to his patients. Putting career first, he leaves.
On the west coast, Ben's new boss Dr. Halberstrom (George Hamilton
George Hamilton
-Arts and sports:* George Hamilton American actor* George "Spike" Hamilton , , father of the actor George Hamilton* George Hamilton IV , country music performer...
) hires him at the interview, thanks to an unexpected letter of recommendation from Hogue. But Ben quickly tires of the superficiality of Beverly Hills. He's surprised by the Mayor's daughter Nancy Lee (Bridget Fonda
Bridget Fonda
Bridget Jane Fonda is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown...
) and Hank, who have fled Grady to come to California. Hank tells Ben he took his own advice to "do what a man's gotta do." Ben, seeing an opportunity at true happiness, returns to Grady, hoping to patch things up with Lou, who takes him back.
Main cast
- Michael J. FoxMichael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
as Dr. Benjamin Stone - Julie WarnerJulie WarnerJuliet Mia "Julie" Warner is an American actress.-Early life:Warner was born in Manhattan, New York. Her mother, Naomi, is a literary agent, an independent marketing consultant, and a licensing director. Her father, Neil Warner, is a jingle composer, a pianist, and an arranger...
as Vialula/"Lou" - Woody HarrelsonWoody HarrelsonWoodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
as Hank Gordon - Bridget FondaBridget FondaBridget Jane Fonda is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown...
as Nancy Lee Nicholson - Roberts BlossomRoberts BlossomRoberts Scott Blossom was an American theater, film and television actor and poet. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in Home Alone and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film Deranged...
as Judge Evans - Barnard HughesBarnard HughesBernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
as Dr. Aurelius Hogue - David Ogden StiersDavid Ogden StiersDavid Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
as Mayor Nick Nicholson - Frances SternhagenFrances SternhagenFrances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.-Personal life:...
as Lillian - George HamiltonGeorge Hamilton (actor)George Stevens Hamilton is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Hamilton was the youngest son of bandleader George "Spike" Hamilton and his first wife, Ann Stevens . He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas...
as Dr. Halberstrom