Doc West (2009)

Touches You

hyped garbage

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

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

I was watching this on the Freeview 'movies-for-men' channel (I'm retired - what else can I say) in the UK. I thought - wow, you can see the wrinkles in the false forehead attached to the wig the lead actress is wearing! So I thought - oh, this must be a pastiche.BUT NO - this is a modern (2009 not 1979 or 1969 or 1909!) film. This is for real.Well 'Gee Mister Dylan, Dillon - Marshall Dillon' said Chester. 'I n'er wood a guest'.Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

A thoroughly predictable and trite story line, which was an enjoyable two hours. The supporting acting is top notch, and the attention to setting detail deserves attention. Well directed and the on site cinematography is startling. Redemptive story of a broken doctor who has gone west to earn a living as a card sharp while caring for a young girl in Boston whose mother he killed in a botched operation. Predictably, he becomes a local star in a small western town because of his moral compass and his developed skill with a fire arm. The old hackneyed showdown between two families over a land dispute. A satisfying comedic western. Well worth the time on a weekend night.

I saw this TV movie on a UK TV channel, where it was called DOC WEST'S CHALLENGE and split into two parts over two consecutive nights. The film is of interest to spaghetti westerns for marking the return of popular spaghetti western actor Terence Hill to the genre, some decades since he was last famed around the world for his comedy westerns.I never really warmed to Hill as an actor, much preferring his sparring partner Bud Spencer, although the sad news is that Spencer doesn't return for whatever reason here. Instead, he's replaced with lookalike Paul Sorvino, who I admit does an excellent job of playing the likable town sheriff. The story is a straightforward and dare I say it rather clichéd one. Hill plays a card sharp who once happened to be a surgeon, until alcoholism caused the death of one of his patients. You can work out the storyline from there, except to say that there are the usual criminal bad guys to be taken care of and a little romance along the way.The worst thing about DOC WEST'S CHALLENGE is the family-friendly rating and feel, which has much in common with the usual horrid American TV movies. Still, the Italian influence makes this one to watch, and the filming locations - in New Mexico - are spot on. Plus, Hill is a delight to watch. He's aged very well (much like fellow western actor Franco Nero), and his character is warm and charismatic throughout. A fitting swansong for the star, then.

Easygoing stranger Terence Hill rides into town chasing some stolen cash and ends up in jail, dispensing medical advise, and finally getting involved in a local land dispute, while simultaneously charming nearly all the town's residents!Despite a sometimes slow pace, this lightweight, family-oriented western has some decent production values and benefits greatly from likable performances by Hill (the first time I ever heard his real voice in a film) and Paul Sorvino, whom I suspect is a stand-in for Hill's partner Bud Spencer, as the town's upright sheriff. In fact, the film is so good-natured that it's nearly impossible to dislike.I'm also a bit in awe of Terence Hill's nearly unchanged appearance since the old spaghetti western days. He looks really great!