Medicine Man *** (1992, Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco, José Wilker) – Classic Movie Review 6799

Director John McTiernan’s 1992 adventure stars a pony-tailed Sean Connery as Dr Robert Campbell, a drug company’s eccentric scientist who has discovered a cure for cancer in the South America tropical rain forests, but he cannot replicate the serum.

Lorraine Bracco also stars as research assistant Dr Rae Crane, who arrives to help him out and they do a lot of arguing and swinging from trees until they mount an expedition to meet the real tribal medicine man whom Connery has scared away. Then the bad guys come to bulldoze away all the trees and all seems lost…

McTiernan’s movie is goodish, right-on entertainment, with the green message and Connery’s twinkle coming over clearly. Old Connery is great, happily swinging like Tarzan’s granddad from tree to tree, and he has a winning way with the dour quip. Bracco provides a solid foil for him and is not too irritating in the often stereotyped part of helpless woman in the jungle.

Director McTiernan keeps it moving along and it is noticeably short for this kind of movie, at 105 minutes, with brevity being the soul of wit. On the minus side, there are no parts for the locals, indeed none for anyone, except for the stars. And also there is rotten score by the normally excellent Jerry Goldsmith, over-emphatic and soupy by turns. Connery’s hairstyle in was based on Goldsmith’s well-known pony-tail. Maybe the rotten score is his revenge on Connery.

Also in the cast are José Wilker as Dr Miguel Ornega, Rodolfo de Alexandre as Tanaki, Francisco Tsiren Tsere Remere, Elias Monteiro Da Silva, Edinei Maria Serrio Dos Santos, Bec-Kana-Re Dos Santos Kaiapo, Angelo Barra Moreira and José Lavat.

Medicine Man is directed by John McTiernan, runs 105 minutes, is made by Cinergi and Hollywood Pictures, released by Guild and Buena Vista, is written by Tom Schulman and Sally Robinson, based on a story by Tom Schulman, is shot in Technicolor by Donald McAlpine, is produced by Sean Connery, Andrew G Vajna, and Donna Dubrow, is scored by Jerry Goldsmith, and is designed by John Krenz Reinhart Jr.

Bracco turned down the role of Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992) to do this film.

Schulman got $3 million for his script in a heated bidding war when it was titled The Stand. Connery got $10 million. That helped it to be a costly movie at $40 million. He started each day of filming playing a round of golf. The younger cast and crew could not keep up with him.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6799

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