Product: Doc Hollywood [VHS] (1991)
Rating: 5.0
Maybe the best "date flicks" I've ever seen.
I normally cannot watch movies on airplanes for some reason. I first saw "Doc Hollywood" on the grueling Boston-LA flight, and it immediately captured and held my interest for the entire flight. More than anything, that fact illustrates that this is a truly engaging flick. This is a genuinely funny movie. One thing that this movie does is lay to rest any doubts anyone might have had about Michael J. Fox's acting ability. In my opinion he turns in a stellar performance, albeit supported by fine jobs by the supporting cast. The part where he finally goes to LA is absolutely hysterical, by the way.The story is very simple (no spoilers here). The protagonist (Michael J. Fox) is on his way to a job interview for a position as a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. He has an accident in a small Southern town ("Grady") and is sentenced to several hundred hours of community service. The town needs a doctor, and its real purpose is to recruit him as a permanent resident physician. Naturally, Doc meets a nice girl and now the choice is between money as a big-shot LA plastic surgeon and lifestyle in a nice rural setting. There's a lot more. I won't spoil it for you. Doc's slow assimilation into the town of Grady is wonderfully done. This movie manages to be both touching and funny, and I say this as one who is normally not much for comedy or date flicks.Michael J. Fox shows in this movie that he had the potential to go far, as indeed he did.