Genre Guesstimation – Living Proof (2008)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s genre has been chosen by J-Dub of Dubsism and we will be reviewing our favorite Films About Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals…

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Sep by sending them to medical@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of Films About Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals…..

“If my drug is successful, it’s going to offer hope to these women for the first time, saving 40,000 lives a year. That’s enough to fill the Rose Bowl every other year.” – Dr. Dennis Slamon

Number of Times Seen – 1 (2 Nov 2022)

Brief Synopsis – Biopic of the doctor/researcher who created one of the most powerful drugs to fight against breast cancer.

My Take on it – This is a film that I came across by accident and had absolutely no idea how much I would be able to relate to the actual storyline.

I knew the overall premise, but never expected it to hit as hard as it did.

My wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer 5 years ago and is actually still alive largely due to the medicine that was created by the doctor portrayed in this film.

I was able to get an inside look at the way that the bureaucracy and clinical trials work and how it can sometimes be very difficult to get a drug approved and then show that it can actually work to help save lives.

The cast is superb here and they utilize many famous faces in key supporting roles here.

Harry Connick Jr. is a great choice for the lead and he shows the devotion and drive that this man had in order to prove that his creation would work.

The drug Herceptin has saved millions of lives of cancer survivors and it was so fascinating to see how it all played out despite the fact that obvious scenes were Hollywoodicized here.

Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Teleplay writer Vivienne Radkoff had the story for about seven years before it was completed. It is an adaptation of Robert Bazell’s book HER-2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer. (From Wikipedia)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Absolutely! This film shows the importance of research and how a strong willed researcher/doctor can fight to find cures for seemingly incurable diseases.

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)