Pretty Good

Admirable film.

Absolutely Fantastic

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) is a resident working in the newest IC unit with nurse Stella (Helen Mirren). He's a skirt chaser and Felicia Potter (Kyra Sedgwick) catches his eye. She's visiting her sick father. She disagrees with her half-sister Connie Potter (Margo Martindale) who wants to keep him alive at all costs. Dr. Butz (Albert Brooks) is Ernst's grumpy absent-minded supervisor. A suffering patient (Jeffrey Wright) wants to die and a demonic doctor (Wallace Shawn) keeps appearing to him.This is a later work from director Sidney Lumet. There is an artificiality to the look probably due to the overwhelming white background. It drains the life out of the story. It feels more like a play in its unreality. I don't know how to take the artificial satire. Even Sedgwick's performance is super artificial which may be due to the character. Nothing feels real. It's not funny at all. It's not that poignant. It's not eye opening. The cast is amazing and Lumet must be a big part of the appeal for them. I want to like this more than I actually do.

Directors as renowned and diverse as Sidney Lumet only come along every so often. This great director had such an incredibly long career as a filmmaker before his unfortunate passing earlier this year. His career spanned fifty years and practically every genre you can think of. Only a few times did Lumet tackle comedy, and Critical Care is one of those times. The movie takes place in a hospital where Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) becomes helplessly involved in a legal battle between two half-sisters who are fighting over the $10 million inheritance of their comatose father. Werner has to put up with this feud as well as his senile supervisor, Dr. Butz, played by an almost unrecognizable Albert Brooks, who insists that Werner only take care of patients with health insurance. Werner must maneuver around the legality of the hospital in order to do what is right for the patient in this twisty, wacky, nutty, and all around fun flick from the late and great Sidney Lumet.Critical Care is a fairly straightforward film when you boil it down. There isn't a lot going on here, but what it has to offer is entertaining enough. It's a witty little film with fun characters and great performances. I thoroughly enjoyed James Spader as the film's lead, as he carries the film well, but the film is really lifted up by its supporting cast. Helen Mirren plays the head nurse on Spader's floor, who has a profound outlook on life, even if she has very unorthodox ways of showing it. She isn't in every scene but when she stops by it always seems she is there to give some sort of advice or perspective on the wacky situation the other characters find themselves in. Jeffrey Wright has a small part as a dying patient who sees visions of the devil coming to take his soul. The devil is played by highly unexpected Wallace Shawn. The sub story that develops between Wright and Shawn, as well as Mirren, is a fascinating parallel to the central story of the film.Kyra Sedgwick and Margo Martindale play the two half-sisters fighting over their father. Sedgwick is a seductive model whose devious ways get Spader into more trouble than he bargained for. Martindale is a deeply religious woman who uses God as her safety net for everything she says about her father and the situation she is in. Her over the top character effectively pokes fun at devout Christians who believe Jesus is the answer to all problems, something I'm always a fan of. But my favorite character of them all is easily the curmudgeonly Dr. Butz, played incredibly well by Albert Brooks in an hysterical role. Dr. Butz is grumpy, unethical, and very technologically challenged, making for some silly yet amusing running jokes in the film. I looked forward to every scene with Brooks as the nutty geezer and was always satisfied with whatever scene he appeared in.When you get right down to it, Critical Care is a film that you watch, enjoy, then forget. I really liked this flick. It made me laugh and it didn't waste my time or insult my intelligence. It's simple enough and not something to do back flips for. It's a small film, very minimalistic, but makes the most out of what it has. The actors are great and the variety of characters are all fun. I couldn't see myself watching this film again but it was at least an effective use of an hour and forty minutes of my time.

Well I liked this a lot. I have only seen THE NETWORK so far from the same director and I am more willing now than before to check more. Thought provoking as few films can be & having a context dealing with many interesting, philosophical topics, this will probably appeal to the majority of serious film fans. Located in a hospital, it comments on euthanasia, doctor's and medical personnel everyday life, medical care VS. money but then again, much much more.Not long before the end, and after some smart religion-centered dialogs, I was a bit disappointed by the "religious" overtone given mostly the "nun"-character, but in the next scenes the film delivers again...Highly recommended, but it can be a bit depressing at times for the very sensitive ones.

A very sarcastic film, and quite an entertaining one, too. Although (or maybe because) many of the truths about the American medical system presented seem to have been taken directly from Samuel Shem's novels, and despite the hard to believe ending, this movie is fun to watch. Its relatively low imdb rating is prove for the relatively low level of humor that most people share. I recommend this movie to any medical student, trust me- you will enjoy it.