Patch Adams (HD-DVD)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: D     Film: D

 

 

Despite being a big hit at the time, few people seem to talk about Tom Shadyac’s terrible drama/comedy Patch Adams, the 1998 nightmare of a melodrama that remains one of Williams’ worst films and has only become worse with age.  Gloriously & rightly mocked in John Waters’ Cecil. B Demented as everything that is wrong with sappy commercial film today, the media followed suit in ignoring the film after 9/11 when the real Adams told a group of grade school children soon after those events that the U.S. was the “real terrorist” confusing young children in what can only be described as inappropriate and child abuse.  Did he run out of jokes?

 

In the film version, he is this nice, almost god-like guy who uses humor to help terminally ill children (making him a non-terrorist, we guess) and making the world a better place to live.  Steve Oedekerk’s clumsy screenplay offers other illicit appeals to pity, like Adams unconventional ways nearly getting him fired.  What is wrong with that hospital?  Do they hate children?  What’s wrong with laughing, especially when you are sick?

 

What is most amazing is how endlessly condescending the film is and how the makers play it off like they are not, but you only need to look at their record of stupid, gross-out comedies to know they are posers and that at this point, this attempt at sincerity was phonier than a $3 bill.  As for Williams, this was the opposite of the intelligent, dignified, mature and far more enduring Awakenings, by comic actress/director Penny Marshall.  That film had heart, soul, depth and dignity, all of which are lacking in this turkey.

 

 

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is good, but not up to the best HD-DVDs we have seen lately, in back catalog releases or from Universal.  It is not the worst either, but despite some consistent picture quality, there are just one too many flaws, which tell us an older HD master was deemed rightly suitable enough for a film of this low quality to be use in this format.  Actually here in Dolby TrueHD, the film was DTS theatrical release and has seen Dolby Digital release, but the 5.1 mixes have never been the best and going back to the soundmaster and it is just not a great sound film either.  The TrueHD is better than the two Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mixes, but not by much since there is not much to improve on.

 

Extras include outtakes, deleted scenes, making of documentary and (oh no!) audio commentary by Shadyac.  Don’t be made a clown of.  Skip this one.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo