A big city doctor is stranded in a small rural town, where he finds love, professional challenges, and a pet pig, in this comedy. Fresh out of residence at a Washington D.C. hospital, hot-shot plastic surgeon Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) hops in his Porsche and is headed for California, where a lucrative practice in Beverly Hills awaits. However, Ben accidentally plows into a fence in Grady, South Carolina; the wreck puts Ben's car out of commission, and the town's mayor, Nick Nicholson (David
Ogden Stiers), sees to it that Ben is sentenced to perform community service while he's waiting to get his car back on the road. For a week, Ben will serve as the community's general practitioner, filling in for the aging Dr. Hogue (Barnard Hughes). Many of the locals go out of their way to make Ben feel welcome, since they need a new full-time doctor and hope he'd be interested in staying on a permanent basis. Ben isn't especially interested until he meets Lou (Julie Warner), a beautiful, intelligent, and feisty local woman he first meets as she's enjoying a morning skinny-dip. Ben now finds himself wondering what the odds are of winning her away from her less-than-brilliant boyfriend Hank (Woody Harrelson). Bridget Fonda has a memorable supporting role as Nancy Lee, who doesn't make much of a secret of her attraction to Ben. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
While retaining his boyish appeal, Mr. Fox also seems a shade more substantial this time, possibly because he is seen making life-or-death decisions when not fielding comic lines.
The picture, which was directed by Michael Caton-Jones, is corny and filled with quaint country eccentrics, but it has a redeeming sweetness of spirit.
Dialogue and plot and all the rest take second place to the conviction that two people only have eyes for one another. Fox and Warner create that feeling, which is why "Doc Hollywood" is a sweetheart of a movie.
It works, with a hearty sense of character connection established, making the climax less about programmed theatrics and more about two smart, hesitant people finding comfort in an unlikely situation.
When you see films like this show how easy it is to make a formulaic rom-com without offending, it's a nasty surprise to see what the Nancy Meyer's are churning out.
Campy, off color, and not so daringly original, Doc Hollywood is enjoyable, if not a slight cliche of the standard comedy. Julie Warner keeps it very heartfelt and original, even if she has to be nude in order for her to be in it.
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