Dying Young (1991)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

An Exercise In Nonsense

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This was a positive surprise! I expected something much more naive, romantic, and over-sentimental, but it was quite realistic - but still fine and moving. I have had someone dying from me from cancer not long ago - not a lover but a very good friend - so I recognize much in the movie. My friend also came to a point, when she did no longer feel the awful side-effects of the chemo worthwhile - but instead wanted her hair back, and to live as normally as possible and only take pain relief until the end. An end which would have been inevitable anyway. The actors are all first-class, and there are also many beautiful exteriors and interiors, party scenes, nature scenery etc.. The only thing I disliked a little, was the "My Fair Lady"-concept. I mean: the rich and well-educated man, who teaches the simple but brazen working- class girl about art-history etc. - while she teaches him about life. And then, of course, they fall in love. That felt dated, and also for 1991 - it would have been more expected in a movie from 1941...But all in all, I find the movie well-worth watching!

A movie that is most definitely not all it is reported to be, but "Dying Young" is still a moving film that depicts the destructive disease of cancer quite well.Julia Roberts returns to good form in her role of an untrained aide for the terminally ill Campbell Scott, who gives a fine and most convincing performance. The plot is predictable, yes, but it remains a very well balanced drama throughout, a credit to the film's director Joel Schumacher.Perhaps only a must see for sentimentalists and Roberts fans, "Dying Young" turns out to be quite a good film.Saturday, April 4, 1992 - Video

and when this film first came out I avoided seeing it because most people said it was silly, another star vehicle for Roberts, etc. But it really isn't. It is a good story made better by decent acting which should never be under-estimated.While Roberts was still in her early stages. Often cast as quirky, offbeat characters, after the success of "Pretty Woman". She adds depth to the character of Hillary, a visiting nurse who ends up falling for her patient; well-portrayed by Campbell Scott.Roberts manages to be touching, and also comedic, without using cheap old standby tactics to make the audience like her- (When I think of this, I am thinking of Goldie Hawn, same quirky smile; or Jennifer Aniston-same gestures again and again to the point where it is formulaic and unbelievable.And the audience realizes they are being manipulated.) Roberts is the sympathetic character, Scott the arrogant well-to-do patient, embittered and dying of cancer.There is also a small cameo role with Colleen Dewhurst, and the ending is not trite and predictable. There are some beautiful scenes of the Northern California coastline. You will enjoy this film. 9/10.

No, not really. Of course I'm joking. I'd rather be buried alive.To be fair, Schumacher has made some good films - "Falling Down" is great fun by any standards - but his bad far outweighs the few good projects he's worked on. His influence on a film is instantly recognizable."Dying Young" is one of Schumacher's sappy flicks, about a woman (Julia Roberts) who decides to nurse a dying man (Campbell Scott) who has blood cancer. Typical story - hatred for each other at first followed shortly by a deep romance, which ends in...well...I guess I shouldn't ruin it.The movie is hokey and artificial - it struck me as one of those Hallmark Channel specials you would see on daytime television. If not for the cast it could easily be found in such a slot.It's a curiosity simply because Schumacher fans - as in, the kind that love to hate him - may find it interesting to see him attempt a romantic weeper.