The Illustrated Family Doctor (2005) User Reviews

Wry, Ironic Comedy Mocking Modern Corporate Life

[noralee · 6/10 · 27 May 2005]

"The Illustrated Family Doctor"is a wry, ironic comedy about a neurotic hypochondriac having a "quarter-life crisis." While writer/director Kriv Stenders described it as very atypical for Australian films, which tend to celebrate masculinity, bringing it to the Tribeca Film Festival was like bringing coals to Newcastle. Stenders claimed in the Q & A to be particularly influenced by Jim Jarmusch, but this seemed more like "The Office" done by Woody Allen.

Samuel Johnson, who has been seen in the U.S. on "The Secret Life of Us" on cable TV, was wonderfully appealing as an Everyman who is the par excellence shlimazl (as in the shlimil is the one who spills the soup and the shlimazl is the one he spills it on).

The digs at Reader's Digest type reference and condensed books are particularly droll.

While the pacing is just too slow, it is an amusing critique of modern corporate life, similar in tone to Walter Kirn's novel "Up in the Air," with a passing resemblance to the British film "How to Get Ahead in Advertising." The production design beautifully captures the sterility of today's working and socializing environments.

another invisible Australian movie

[the_crock · 7/10 · 3 August 2005]

So many Australian comedies have nothing to say, this is not one of them. So many Australian movies are shot like a TV show, this is not one of them. So many Australians movies disappoint in the end, unfortunately this is one of them. The Director of Photography should be given the AFI, Samuel Johnson is much less annoying than normal, Colin Friels is respectable, but in the end this movie is lacking something. I don't know what, but I know after seeing it I felt no different than before I saw it, and that wasn't the intention of this movie.

That said this is a respectable movie.

For an Australian movie it is very very good, and it highlights why the Australian film industry is in the dumps, because virtually no one saw this movie. You can't get funding if people wont see movies. I've seen much much worse Hollywood films that this recently, but Australians keep donating money to the American Studio system while ignoring their own.

Original idea but expected more

[bittersweet_smiler · 5/10 · 28 October 2006]

I intended to see this movie at the cinemas but it was gone within 2 weeks and when it finally came on Foxtel I wondered why I was bothering to go see it in the first place. The storyline was original and there were some interesting ideas used here, but the acting wasn't as good as I hoped and so many characters seem to either be angry or depressed in this movie that you find it hard to connect with anyone, not even the main character to an extent. I thought the speed of finding a donor was a bit far fetched too. What I thought was strange is that this movie was billed as a comedy but I probably only laughed once, at the stupidity of the moment where Gary attempts to defend himself with a wok. I think this movie tries to depend on comedic sympathy and ridicule over anything else. I expected something great from this movie but it just didn't deliver. Throughout most of the movie I felt uncomfortable and I didn't start to like it until about 20 minutes before the end. I really want Australian cinema to be prosperous but there sadly isn't enough drawing power here to help that along, apart from the fact that I practically saw no promotion before its box office release and monstrosities like Date Movie got loads more at the time. If I had a choice between Date Movie and this one though, I would choose the latter.

Darlky Hilarious

[lwm208 · 8/10 · 29 April 2005]

This movie is amazing! It is so straightforwardly endearing! It follows a young man through a few weeks where everything in his life goes to hell. The beauty of the film though, is that it doesn't conform to the starsky-and-hutch, euro-trip kind of crappy comedy that Hollywood has been force-feeding us lately. This is a movie that actually deserved to be made, and one that should get a lot more credit than it has been. Rather than relying on cheesy one-liners, this is a real character study, a glimpse into a life you could actually see someone leading. Put it this way, if you find the royal Tannenbaum's, i <3 huckabees, and scrubs entertaining, you will appreciate this movie. If you don't, then your opinion doesn't matter anyway ;).

clever black comedy

[alasdair7 · 9/10 · 26 February 2009]

The continually puzzled and worried expression of Gary Kelp, played very well by Samuel Johnson, forms an interesting platform for all the other characters in the film.

The photography with a lot of long shots gives a sense of letting things happen which is really the story of the principal actor's life, it is happening and he is powerless to stop it.

Interesting appearances by the Mark Little sound alike and act alike ( Mark began as the master of stand up in the early to mid 1980s) Jason Gann and veteran Paul Sonkkila as a menacing presence are a brilliant diversion from Johnson's hopeless downward spiral.

Jason Gann was on the verge of massive success as a comedy actor in Wilfred probably the greatest Australian Comedy ever. Along with Adam Zwar and Cindy Waddingham he played a human in a massive dog suit who manipulated his owner and uncertain boyfriend an out of work media monitor.

Gann as Carl Lucas steals the show during his scenes as well as Kelp's wife Carol.

Sonkkila as Snapper Thompson menaces Kelp with advice, usually in the toilet, over eye lotions and how to open doors.

Very much worth watching as Australian comedy progresses to a new level experimenting with the use of black humor.

Disappointed

[osha83 · 25 November 2005]

I have to say I expected more from this movie. With the great cast and interesting opener, I didn't envision nearly falling asleep halfway through.

While the actors did their best, the script could have used some of Ray's advice, in short, more editing!

Samuel Johnson's hangdog expression (familiar to those who watched The Secret Life of Us) was put to great effect as he experienced loss, love and even kidney failure. I like Sacha Horler, given her previous work in Soft Fruit and Praise, but she only appeared in two scenes! Colin Friels was gruff yet personable and Jessica Napier, also very good, didn't appear enough.

Overall, I found the movie too drawn out to hold my interest with a lot of unnecessary clutter. Had they done more cutting and pasting, it could have worked.