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Gross Anatomy
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // PG-13 // September 3, 2002
List Price: $9.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"Gross anatomy," for those who are curious, doesn't refer to anatomy that's disgusting. The older meaning of "gross" is "large-scale," so "gross human anatomy" is the study of the major structures of the human body, those parts that can be seen and examined by the naked eye rather than by the microscope. For students in medical school, the study of this subject means dissecting an actual human cadaver, piece by piece... possibly the most intimidating class on their schedules. It might seem an odd subject to make a light-hearted comedy/drama about, but anything is possible: the film Gross Anatomy takes that experience as the centerpiece of a story about people coming to terms with what they want and what they're willing to do to get there.
Probably the most entertaining aspect of Gross Anatomy is the way the story follows one character through a single year at medical school. Our protagonist is Joe Slovak (Matthew Modine), who's undeniably bright but who can't seem to take much of anything seriously. The movie opens charmingly, with snippets of Joe's various interviews at different schools, and then follows him to arriving at school, the first day of classes, the first exams, and so on, all the way to final exams at the end of the year. The result is a fast-paced movie that has enough entertaining story elements to fill its slightly less than two hours of running time.
Still, Gross Anatomy in some ways is a movie that feels like it has parts missing; or at least that the original concept may have been more developed than the finished product. A few ideas of some substance are touched on: for instance, the fact that Joe's roommate David (Todd Field), is incapable of keeping up with the demanding medical curriculum, even after resorting to amphetamines to keep him awake for extra study time. Here's a worthwhile concept: the fact that desire, by itself, does not equate ability; no matter how much David wants to be a doctor, he may still fail his exams. In contrast, we have Joe, who appears to have the ability, but not the desire to the same degree. Is it fair that Joe will be able to succeed when David can't? Well, it could be an interesting theme, but Gross Anatomy essentially sidesteps the subject, presenting both sides as unexamined clichés: on the one hand, "if you really want to, you can do it (with a little help from your friends)" and on the other side, "if you have talent, it's your obligation to use it." Now, it's not that these are presented as morals, because they're not, at least not explicitly, but in the way that the story develops along the path of least resistance, that's what we get.
Speaking of feeling unfinished, it's too bad that the DVD doesn't include any deleted scenes or a featurette, because I'd be interested to know a bit more about the editing of the film. In several different scenes toward the end of the movie, several characters make comments about how there are pieces missing from their set of bones in the anatomy lab. It looks like a sub-plot about a mysterious body-part thief is in the making... but it never goes anywhere. Gross Anatomy certainly doesn't strike me as the kind of movie to leave story elements hanging for artistic purposes, so in my book it looks like a sub-plot ended up on the cutting room floor, leaving a few mysterious vestiges behind.
Personally, I'd much rather have had a sub-plot about missing body parts than the major sub-plot we do get, about Joe's amorous pursuit of his lab partner Laurie (Daphne Zuniga). Their relationships as fellow medical students works quite well, but the love interest angle is forced, completely unconvincing, and doesn't add anything to the story. If the story had stuck to the thread of "Joe's experiences in his first year," it would have been a better film, and less formulaic.
Video
Gross Anatomy has been presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer, which presents the film to reasonably good effect. The weakest point of Gross Anatomy's transfer is the number of print flaws, which is significant. Many scratches and speckles appear in the image throughout the film. There's some moderate edge enhancement, but fortunately it doesn't take too much of a toll on the sharpness of the image; Gross Anatomy's camera work is largely in close-up and middle-distance shots where the detail in the image is clearly apparent. Apart from these faults, Gross Anatomy looks good; contrast is fine throughout, and colors are pleasant and natural-looking.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 track is satisfactory for this dialogue-focused film. The characters' voices are clear and sound natural, and music and the occasional minor background sounds are kept in good balance with the rest of the soundtrack.
Extras
Gross Anatomy is the barest of bare-bones discs: there's neither hide nor hair of any special features.
Final thoughts
Gross Anatomy is mildly entertaining, a fun movie as long as you don't think too much about it. It's fairly well-paced, and has a light touch with the humor: the characters and many of the situations are presented in such a way as to be amusing, as with Joe's incompatibility with his roommate, or their lab partner's attempt to butter up the professor of their gross anatomy class, but these scenes aren't pushed too hard for laughs, with the result that the overall tone is light but not cartoony. It's worth seeing if you're in the mood for something light and fun, or if you're a fan of Matthew Modine.
Probably the most entertaining aspect of Gross Anatomy is the way the story follows one character through a single year at medical school. Our protagonist is Joe Slovak (Matthew Modine), who's undeniably bright but who can't seem to take much of anything seriously. The movie opens charmingly, with snippets of Joe's various interviews at different schools, and then follows him to arriving at school, the first day of classes, the first exams, and so on, all the way to final exams at the end of the year. The result is a fast-paced movie that has enough entertaining story elements to fill its slightly less than two hours of running time.
Still, Gross Anatomy in some ways is a movie that feels like it has parts missing; or at least that the original concept may have been more developed than the finished product. A few ideas of some substance are touched on: for instance, the fact that Joe's roommate David (Todd Field), is incapable of keeping up with the demanding medical curriculum, even after resorting to amphetamines to keep him awake for extra study time. Here's a worthwhile concept: the fact that desire, by itself, does not equate ability; no matter how much David wants to be a doctor, he may still fail his exams. In contrast, we have Joe, who appears to have the ability, but not the desire to the same degree. Is it fair that Joe will be able to succeed when David can't? Well, it could be an interesting theme, but Gross Anatomy essentially sidesteps the subject, presenting both sides as unexamined clichés: on the one hand, "if you really want to, you can do it (with a little help from your friends)" and on the other side, "if you have talent, it's your obligation to use it." Now, it's not that these are presented as morals, because they're not, at least not explicitly, but in the way that the story develops along the path of least resistance, that's what we get.
Speaking of feeling unfinished, it's too bad that the DVD doesn't include any deleted scenes or a featurette, because I'd be interested to know a bit more about the editing of the film. In several different scenes toward the end of the movie, several characters make comments about how there are pieces missing from their set of bones in the anatomy lab. It looks like a sub-plot about a mysterious body-part thief is in the making... but it never goes anywhere. Gross Anatomy certainly doesn't strike me as the kind of movie to leave story elements hanging for artistic purposes, so in my book it looks like a sub-plot ended up on the cutting room floor, leaving a few mysterious vestiges behind.
Personally, I'd much rather have had a sub-plot about missing body parts than the major sub-plot we do get, about Joe's amorous pursuit of his lab partner Laurie (Daphne Zuniga). Their relationships as fellow medical students works quite well, but the love interest angle is forced, completely unconvincing, and doesn't add anything to the story. If the story had stuck to the thread of "Joe's experiences in his first year," it would have been a better film, and less formulaic.
Video
Gross Anatomy has been presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer, which presents the film to reasonably good effect. The weakest point of Gross Anatomy's transfer is the number of print flaws, which is significant. Many scratches and speckles appear in the image throughout the film. There's some moderate edge enhancement, but fortunately it doesn't take too much of a toll on the sharpness of the image; Gross Anatomy's camera work is largely in close-up and middle-distance shots where the detail in the image is clearly apparent. Apart from these faults, Gross Anatomy looks good; contrast is fine throughout, and colors are pleasant and natural-looking.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 track is satisfactory for this dialogue-focused film. The characters' voices are clear and sound natural, and music and the occasional minor background sounds are kept in good balance with the rest of the soundtrack.
Extras
Gross Anatomy is the barest of bare-bones discs: there's neither hide nor hair of any special features.
Final thoughts
Gross Anatomy is mildly entertaining, a fun movie as long as you don't think too much about it. It's fairly well-paced, and has a light touch with the humor: the characters and many of the situations are presented in such a way as to be amusing, as with Joe's incompatibility with his roommate, or their lab partner's attempt to butter up the professor of their gross anatomy class, but these scenes aren't pushed too hard for laughs, with the result that the overall tone is light but not cartoony. It's worth seeing if you're in the mood for something light and fun, or if you're a fan of Matthew Modine.
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