"It's amazing how much of my life has been determined by a quarter inch piece of plastic."

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2018)

I don't know which is the better way to say it - this wasn't a very good movie but it had some humorous moments, OR, this film had some humorous moments but it wasn't very good. I guess it works both ways, my second option at least starts off with sort of a compliment.
This is the kind of film I would have related to a lot better when I was around the same age as the principals, but a lifetime of living (and watching thousands of movies) has offered a somewhat different perspective. I really don't have anything against the picture per se, it's just that the characters and situations are fundamentally shallow and made quirky for the sake of being quirky. Where else for example would you find an armor wearing Renaissance actor, a silent-Velcro inventor guy or a guardian of the infinite abyss? All a bit too pretentious to be taken seriously, not to mention Natalie Portman's invisible epilepsy and inability to speak the truth. Then there's the entire question I have about the ethics of a father prescribing medication for an immediate family member. Seems to me like there could be some kind of grounds there for medical malfeasance there, in fact I was bothered enough by that to look it up. To keep it simple, the A.M.A. states that physicians generally should not treat themselves or members of their immediate families because professional objectivity may be compromised when an immediate family member or the physician is the patient.
Anyway, without scorching the picture, I'd give Zach Braff some credit for coming up with a relatively decent first time writing and directorial effort. I thought he did a nice acting job on 'Scrubs', but because of that, probably should have nailed that business on the doctor/patient relationship. He probably knows better by now.