Friday, January 22, 2010
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Friday, January 22, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Extraordinary Measures
Miracles, Medicine And Melancholy
Brendan Fraser as John Crowley and
Harrison Ford as Dr. Robert Stonehill in "Extraordinary Measures".
CBS Films
By Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
Friday, January 22, 2010
"Extraordinary Measures" is one of those pleasant surprises: you think that a
film like this will wallow in the Hallmark Card iconography many of its ilk
typically do, but it ends up being a warm, entertaining and moving experience,
without the schmaltzy excess. Tom Vaughn directs the film, based on the
true story of John Crowley, a corporate man whose two youngest children have
Pompe disease, a rare but fatal blood disorder. Robert Nelson Jacobs'
screenplay is based on The Gift, a best-selling book by Geeta Anand.
Brendan Fraser, very good here, stars as Crowley, and in a sense he inhabits the
role his opposite number Harrison
Ford has long played: that of embattled everyman, as he searches in vain for
a cure for his kids. Crowley's wife, Aileen (Keri Russell) has his
undivided support, fighting to keep this family in crisis together. And
Mr. Ford, amusing at times in his his occasional subtlety of character --
here as the fictional Dr. Robert Stonehill, a Rodney Dangerfield in his
field looking for validation -- does nicely. Mr. Ford's borderline
avuncular character works for "Extraordinary Measures", the first film from the Tiffany television
network's brand new division CBS Films. The film opened today across
the U.S. and Canada.
There's at least one moment in Mr. Vaughan's film that is milked for maximum
handkerchief value, but so what? As long as "Extraordinary Measures"
doesn't go to extraordinary lengths to grab our heartstrings while giving us
insight into just how the Crowleys and hundreds of other families live and
struggle to find a cure for a wretched disease, it's time -- and money -- well
spent.
With: Meredith Droeger, Diego Velazquez, Sam Hall, Jared Harris, Patrick Bauchau,
Alan Ruck, David Clennon, Courtney B. Vance, Ayanna Berkshire, Dee Wallace.
"Extraordinary Measures" is rated PG by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for thematic material, language and a mild
suggestive moment. The film's
running time is one hour and 45 minutes.
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