Critical Care
At Memorial Hospital no one ever dies...Until their insurance runs out.
Dr, Werner Ernst (James Spader) is an over worked intern who only wants what is best for his elderly, comatose patient- until he falls for the ailing man's beautiful daughter Felicia( Kyra Sedgwick). The seductive Felicia has ten million reasons to let her father "die with dignity," while her deeply religious sister has her own motives for keeping him alive. Caught between passion and duty, Werner descends into a moral mine field where the physicain's god-like powers of life and death depend not on knowing right from wrong... but having the courage to choose.
Member Reviews
Give it a miss - Ralston_McTodd
Given the cast and crew, one would expect a good movie. One would be wrong. Many of the right elements are there (though Mirren is sadly underused), but they don't click. Albert Brooks is a great looney doctor, but only managed to show the disparity between farce and realism--a line this film does not successfully straddle. Too bad.Entertaining and Insightful - johndeeca
Critical Care is both an entertaining and insightful comedy. While not going in too deep, this movie explores the themes of the relationship between health care,money, medical ethics, idealism, etc. The three main actors,(James Spader, Kyra Sedgwick,Helen Mirren) as well as the supporting cast all work well together and deliver strong performances. The flow of the movie is steady and does not get bogged down in sentimentality. Most of the dialogue is witty and well written.Confused romp through the medical field - Magdalene
This movie wants to be either a comedy or a flaming indictment of the medical business... but it just can't make up its mind, and so the viewer is left with something of a mess. Albert Brooks is hilarious as the money-grubbing, Korsakoff’s syndrome suffering, medical chief. Anne Bancroft and Helen Mirren give small but interesting performances that are reminscient of Emma Thompson in Angels in America.
Kyra Sedgewick, James Spader and Margo Martindale appear to be in a completely different movie... and, unfortunately for them, one that isn't nearly as good. They all give stilted performances as the struggling parties in determining whether an elderly patient should be kept alive for no purpose but to generate income for the hospital or be removed from life support. It's not a light topic but everyone does their best to forget that it a man's life that is in the balance.
You might want to rent it if you're bored... but this is not a Saturday night movie!
Member Reviews
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Give it a miss - Ralston_McTodd
Given the cast and crew, one would expect a good movie. One would be wrong. Many of the right elements are there (though Mirren is sadly underused), but they don't click. Albert Brooks is a great looney doctor, but only managed to show the disparity between ...Entertaining and Insightful - johndeeca
Critical Care is both an entertaining and insightful comedy. While not going in too deep, this movie explores the themes of the relationship between health care,money, medical ethics, idealism, etc. The three main actors,(James Spader, Kyra Sedgwick,Helen ...Confused romp through the medical field - Magdalene
This movie wants to be either a comedy or a flaming indictment of the medical business... but it just can't make up its mind, and so the viewer is left with something of a mess. Albert Brooks is hilarious as the money-grubbing, Korsakoff’s syndrome suffering, ...