Benjamin Stone is a young doctor driving to L.A., where he is interviewing for a high-paying job as a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. Upon getting off the highway to avoid a traffic jam, Stone gets lost and ends up crashing into a fence in the small town of Grady. He is sentenced to 32 hours of community service at the local hospital by the town judge. All he wants is to serve the sentence, get his car fixed and move on out, but gradually the locals become attached to the new doctor, and he falls for the pretty ambulance driver, Lou. Will he still want to leave? Doc Hollywood is a charming film with some great romance, sprinkled with light-hearted comedic moments throughout. From the beginning, things are off to a great start with the use of the opening song 'The One and Only' performed by Chesney Hawkes, which is a phenomenal piece that I adore and was introduced to thanks to this film. It is simply epic and one I think everyone should listen to. Michael J. Fox is great in this film, he is a top favourite actor for me, especially with his role in the Back to the Future trilogy, Teen Wolf (1985), The Secret of My Success (1987) and many more. He is very charming and funny in this film and I love the relationship with Julie Warner's character Lou. I was rooting for them to end up together as they were perfect together and had loads of chemistry. Stone has a nice redemption story too as he goes from wanting nothing more than to leave as soon as he can, however, once his car is fixed and his 32 hours are up, he decides to stay longer instead of being hellbent on leaving. He even begins to truly care about the people of the town and shows quite a fondness for them all. He begins to grow attached and even help out families, like when a couple asked him if he could read letters from their relatives because they can't read and as he reads the letters he begins to get so engaged in the stories from their family. From then on he ends up going around to their house just to hear what's been going on in the letters. It's a genuinely hilarious scene just seeing him so engaged in another person's stories and whilst explaining it to the couple, he acts even more excited and invested each time, even more so than the actual family. One of my favourite moments in the film is when both Stone and Lou join in a dance together to the song 'Crazy' by Patsy Cline. It is a very calm scene that lets the emotions sink in, taking its time to relax in the beautiful moment. Even our characters lose themselves in the moment as the scene changes from dancing surrounded by people to the two being alone. It is a very romantic sequence that is sure to move you. The scene ends with the two coming back to reality with the film bringing all the other dancers back around them. Seeing his change of heart as he gradually came to appreciate the town was genuinely satisfying to see. Just as Stone starts to grow attached to the townspeople, the same happens for some of them who, at first, was cautious about him and not so keen, but have now come to really appreciate him. Even when he leaves and finally gets to L.A. and gets the job he has so desperately wanted, he finally comes to terms with what he had back at Grady. Rushing back he reunites with Lou and the beautiful town with no intentions of ever going again. Overall, I extremely enjoyed this movie. It has a great cast, lots of humour, believable and compelling romance and a wholesome fun journey. Doc Hollywood is an underrated classic and a pleasure to watch. If you are a fan of Michael J. Fox, this is one you should look out for, especially if you are looking for a feel-good film to relax to with some romance.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones
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