Review of Article 99

Introduction

Article 99 refers to a Veteran`s Administration hospital regulation concerning the withholding of full medical benefits if an ailment is not specifically related to military service. Kiefer Sutherland plays the new doctor interning at a veterans hospital and little does he know that there`s a system in place that doesn`t favour the needy.

There are never enough beds so patients are `turfed` from department to department in an effort to keep them in the hospital, while there`s a maverick team of surgeons led by Doctor Sturgess (Ray Liotta) who practise unauthorised operations on patients to keep them alive. They nick supplies from labs used for testing on animals, like pacemakers, and fit these to those that really need them all the while defying hospital policy makers and anyone else taking toothbrush inventory.

John Mahoney is the chief pen pusher and he does his job very well. He doesn`t like Sturgess (Liotta) and has continual run ins with the man, trying to nab him for nicking hospital supplies and doing these unauthorised operations. It all comes to a head however when the doctors barricade themselves in the hospital in a standoff against the government. Who would have figured that red tape could be so engaging?

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 widescreen enhanced video transfer, Article 99 looks in good shape. Colours are well balanced, as it the detail and I couldn`t spot any defects apart from the usual tiny marks of dust. Being an MGM back catalogue title you`d think it`d just churn DVDs out without bothering too much with the niceties of a nice transfer, which is why this is a surprise.

Audio

Nothing more high tech than an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack in play and it`s serviceable. The dialogue is clear from the centre while the rest of the sound comes from the front. There`s nothing outstanding in the film`s sound to push this any further. Danny Elfman is responsible for the sound, but it`s a forgettable affair and nothing like his other compositions.

Features

No Extras. There are English, German, French and Spanish subtitles.

Conclusion

Don`t know about you, but I do sometimes wonder at some of the back catalogue titles being released; I know that someone out there will want it, even if I don`t. Article 99 is one of those titles. Directed in 1992 by Howard Deutch, my first interest in this was Deutch himself since he directed the John Hughes teen comedies of, Some Kind of Wonderful and Pretty in Pink. The former is a favourite of mine so I`m naturally curious about Article 99.

Article 99 is a comedy drama but the comedy is non-existent and story wise, while I marvel at the heroics and sentiments of `them` versus `us`, it simply doesn`t work. The plotting is too carefully orchestrated and the story is just too tidy. It`s a hospital setting but I don`t get the impression of urgency or rebellion. There are scenes that emphasise the chasm but it doesn`t feel right, it doesn`t feel `real` enough. Most episodes of ER fare far better, and even M.A.S.H. is far superior when it comes to balancing comedy and rebellion. The acting in Article 99 is flat and boring all the way through.

There`s quite a cast in this film, Kathy Baker, Ray Liotta, Kiefer Sutherland, Lea Thompson, Forest Whitaker, John Mahoney...The only revelation here though is Liotta. I thought he only played nutcases? Here he`s a maverick surgeon playing by his own rules and getting up the nose of hospital pen pusher John Mahoney. I keep expecting Liotta to lose it and perhaps kill someone, but he doesn`t, while Kiefer Sutherland has a moustache that I can`t stop staring at; he looks like a teenager trying to show how grown up he is. I don`t have a problem with the casting, but I do have a problem with the story (and that moustache).

What of the flirtations between Lea Thompson and Sutherland? Nothing happens and this seems pointless. So is the pointless love interest of Liotta and Kathy Baker. Hey, let`s add some romance to this hospital comedy! Let`s not. The characters are flat, the dialogue is tiring and the story lacks inspiration, wit and direction.

I felt so relieved when I reached the end of this film, as I really couldn`t care about the `them` and `us`. Article 99 feels like a TV movie that no one would bat an eyelid about, and this DVD does nothing to sway me from that thought.