Hunter (Patch) Adams is a self admitted suicidal patient in a Mental hospital who discovers his worth in life when he helps a fellow patient overcome his fear of squirrels. He meets many amazing people in the hospital and touches the lives of them all including a patient suffering from genius syndrome who teaches Patch to look beyond what he sees.

After finding his talent with helping people Patch decides he is destined for a career in medicine. However, it is his tactics in health care which land him in some hot water. He practices a different kind of medicine for the medical genre of the 1970’s, believing that laughter is the best medicine, and that if you can treat a patient rather than the disease you can actually help improve the patients quality of life. After a rough term in college Patch decides to start his own free treatment centre for those who want his help or can’t afford it elsewhere.

Robin Williams has always been an outstanding actor slipping into some unusual roles and playing them all perfectly. Patch Adams is no exception. Monica potter as Carine is also convincing although not focused on so much as a main character. Other notable performances from Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Bob Gunton as the stickler Dean of Medicine.

So How Does This Transfer Hold Up??
The transfer quality is flawless, well at least I couldn’t find any flaws. There has been some mention of some slight strobing during a scene with Patch and Carine in the park at night but I certainly didn’t pick it up. The transfer is sharp and clear and the occasional loss of focus is certainly not noticeable. Colours are nicely saturated and not overdone; very fitting for a period film. As mentioned in the Directors commentary the colours in the mental hospital have been changed to be a little brighter and not so depressing which fits the mood perfectly. The majority of the film is a nice warmly rendered colour scheme once it changes to the medical school. This DVD is also dual Layered with the movie been split over the 2 layers, the change was a touch annoying as on my DVD player the break occurred as the school Dean was talking and cut off part of his line. [Ed... i saw this to also and it was NOT the best place for a layer change..tisk tisk]

Sound formats include: English Dolby Digital 5.0, French Dolby Digital 5.0, Italian Dolby Digital 5.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.0, and the English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The English Dolby track and the Audio Commentary being the two I have listened to. Although being a dialogue based movie the audio is also exceptional. I could find no sync problems and the dialogue was clear and sharp.

Mark Shaiman has composed a graceful score which, while not memorable by any means is certainly fitting for the film and at times emotionally powerful. The lack of bass and striking surround effects is hardly noticeable, as you are constantly involved in the dialogue and intermittently the musical score.

As a collectors edition we are treated to some additional extra’s which make interesting viewing. The animated menus are great with the little butterfly animation catching your eye beautifully. The only criticism of the menus is that the highlighted options can be difficult to recognise as they are only selected by a little white circle around an icon for each choice.

The audio commentary although not usually one of my favourite extras is quite interesting. Tom Shadyac is very passionate about his films and this is evident in the commentary. It is interesting to learn that almost the entire film is actually true. Of course beefed up a little in area’s all is based on the life of Hunter Adams and has been compressed some what for the film to be able to just include the highlights of about 17 years of Patch’s life. It is also entertaining to hear about the antics of Robin Williams on the set and the other thought processes in the making of the film.

Another fabulous extra in the documentary "The medicinal Value of Laughter". Here you can listen to the real Hunter Adams discuss what has happened in his life and how the writing of the book about his life: "Gesundheit: Good Health Is a Laughing Matter" came to the making of the film. Also including little tid bits from the making of the film. Definitely a must see!

From listening to the audio commentary you get the impression from Shadyac that there are some wild outtakes and while the ones included on the dvd are funny they are quite short and I was expecting a few more. Nevermind, those which we do get, are great, and you can see why other actors love to work with Robin Williams.

Other extras include the Theatrical trailer, production notes and cast and crew biographies.