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DR. T AND THE WOMEN Send This Review to a Friend
Robert Altman's latest, yet another film previewed at the prolific Toronto International Film Festival, stars Richard Gere in one of his best performances as a gynecologist to whom the ladies of Dallas flock. Altman's exercise in gynecology chic is a sprawling satire populated by wonderful actresses playing various characters in the twitting of life in the Texas city. It has the free-wheeling fun of the kind of potpourri that Altman handles so well. It may not be "Nashville," but this one is entertaining enough on its own more limited terms.
As Dr. Sully Travis, Gere is admirably suave throughout, ruffled only in his efforts to deal with his mentally ill wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett) and cement romance with the very independent golf professional Bree, played by Helen Hunt with a fiery flair and an elusiveness that's right in tune with contemporary conceptions--a woman who calls her own shots on or off the course. Other actresses who pump up the film's enjoyment level include Shelley Long, Tara Reid, Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler.
Anne Rapp's script is bright and well-suited to Altman's liberated style. Another plus is the snazzy look of the film, whether outdoors or in the doc's very hectic office, and the costuming helps define the types of patients who clamor for attention on demand. The most problematical aspect is the odd ending that is in a totally different vein and adds a metaphysical twist. It does succeed in making a comment on the life of the good doctor, with a note of whimsy in the emergency he handles and in the result. Of course, anything goes in an Altman work. One just has to be prepared to ride all the way with it.
There might be the temptation in a film that whirls around gynecology to opt for cheap, demeaning laughs. Fortunately, this doesn't happen. Dr. T is merely a talented doc with a sympathetic examining table manner whose life is inundated by women, yet who is unable to find happiness despite such popularity. And Gere, who gets even better looking with the passage of time, is so very good in the role. An Artisan Entertainment release.
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