But here, the deck that’s stacked against Patch is centuries of science – and the general principle of not being an idiot. That passion would outweigh whatever deck was stacked against whoever he played. Williams was capable of projecting endless, boundless energy. He appears completely committed to the role, to the ignorant and dishonest point-of-view of Patch. I’ve never seen Robin Williams so misdirected and misused. We all owe it to ourselves to negotiate some sort of compromise between misery, honesty and joy, but Patch’s balance – the balance of Patch Adams – isn’t just wrong.

We must greet our existence with a grin, but that won’t make it much less grim. I wish a smile could cure any disease, undo any trauma, and wipe away all the pain. Patch knows better – kids with cancer actually don’t need chemotherapy, they need a loud man with a red rubber nose! It’s all just so whimsical. Convinced he’s cured the guy, Patch promptly checks himself out of the institution and enrolls in medical school.įrom here, Patch wears the same smug smile as anyone who’ll blabber to you about the transformative powers of “alternative medicine.” You see, he’s simply more sophisticated than the scientists, doctors, and professors who think they can teach him how to heal people. When his roommate starts freaking out because he’s surrounded by imaginary squirrels, Patch helps him kill them using an imaginary arsenal. In this rushed prologue, “Patch” (he eventually starts going by Patch) decides he can reach his fellow patients better than their doctors, by using humor and believing in their perspectives. Depressed, he can’t figure out his purpose. In the late sixties, Hunter Adams ( Robin Williams) checks himself into a mental institution. I could call it “ Jojo Rabbit for the Clinton Era” or label it a “misguided crowd-pleaser.” But I won’t do any of that because I – unlike Patch Adams – refuse to bullshit you. I could come up with some convoluted metaphor and tell you that watching Tom Shadyac’s 1998 catastrophe is like going to a restaurant and having the waiter spit on your food. I truly can’t think of a better way to describe it.

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