Review of Young Doctors in Love (1982) by Timothy S — 27 Nov 2010

The success of "Airplane" in 1980 wasn't all good because it gave other less-talented filmmakers the idea that they too could make a similar spoof. This was one of the resulting films, and it's extremely scattershot that misses a lot more than it hits. It's also proof that the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrams style of filmmaking is a lot harder than it looks.

This is the feature film debut of Garry Marshall who would go on to make blockbusters like "Pretty Woman", but his inexperience shows through here. The script is a mess, and there's barely a plot. For most of the running time, this feels like an overlong "Saturday Night Live" sketch. And the casting is another mixed bag with Michael McKean playing straight man and Sean Young looking like an actual movie star before she came down with a case of the crazies in real life. But it's Dabney Coleman who steals the show. In a film without alot to offer, I always welcomed his appearance.

There are a lot of cameos from famous soap stars, but it adds little to the film if you're not a fan of the daytime dramas. There was a time when the movie almost won me over by its short-lived goofy charm, but it only sustains that for about a half hour. The next sixty minutes are lethally boring and the jokes bomb fast and furious. The movie isn't raunchy enough to work on that level, but it's not good-natured enough for kids even though a lot of it seems to be written by children. "Young Doctors in Love" pulls out all the stops but it just can't deliver.