DOC HOLLYWOOD is an unsuccessful attempt to create an old-fashioned slice of romantic Americana in the style of Frank Capra or Preston Sturges. A Washington D.C.-based plastic surgeon with dreams of making mounds of money in Beverly Hills, Dr. Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) speeds West in his vintage Porsche but gets only as far as Grady, South Carolina, before a fluke accident stops him cold. Within moments of crashing into the new fence of Grady's mayor Nick Nicholson (David Ogden Stiers), Ben realizes he may be in for a long stay. The mayor is eager to have a fresh-faced young doctor minister to the townsfolks' needs, and sentences "Doc" Stone to many hours of community service, while his Porsche is laid up at the local body shop for extensive repairs.
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones (SCANDAL, MEMPHIS BELLE), DOC HOLLYWOOD is a clumsy, calculated attempt at warm-hearted, populist entertainment. As the title character, Michael J. Fox plays the same immature yuppie innocent he portrayed in the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies and THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS, as well as countless episodes of TV's "Family Ties." He does it well, but we've seen it too many times before.
Julie Warner makes a respectable love interest, and Barnard Hughes is acceptable as the town's aging doctor whose home-spun remedies have kept the population in shape for many years. George Hamilton delivers a nice turn as the almost machine-like Dr. Halberstrom, while Bridget Fonda, whose forceful, sexy presence gives this sluggish movie a temporary shot of adrenalin, is all but wasted in a cameo as a Southern belle anxious to find her fortune in Hollywood. leave a comment
