Patch Adams (film)

Patch Adams is a 1998 American comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, and starring Robin Williams in the title role, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton, Daniel London and Peter Coyote. Set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it is loosely based on the life story of medical doctor Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health Is a Laughing Matter by Adams and Maureen Mylander.

Patch Adams was released by Universal Pictures on December 25, 1998. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, with criticism for the sentimentality and direction. However, it was a box-office success, grossing $202.3 million against a $50–90 million budget.

Plot

In 1969, Hunter "Patch" Adams, after developing suicidal thoughts, admits himself to a mental institution. There, he finds that using humor, rather than doctor-centered psychotherapy, better helps his fellow patients and provides him with a new purpose. Because of this, he wants to become a medical doctor and leaves the facility. Two years later, he enrolls at the Medical College of Virginia as its oldest first-year student.

Adams questions the school's soulless approach to medical care, particularly why students do not work with patients until their third year, as well as the methods of the school's dean, Walcott, who takes an instant disliking to him. Adams is expelled from the medical school but is reinstated when it becomes apparent that his eccentric methods often improve his patients' physical and mental health.