"You're sort of a CREEPY person, aren't you?"      

EXTREME MEASURES (R) 

For those of us who thought of Hugh Grant as just another one of those "light" actors (good only for stuttering comedic roles...), get ready for a surprise.  Extreme Measures, starring Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, and Sarah Jessica Parker, and directed by Michael Apted, is a nicely-paced, suspenseful thriller that gets you involved and keeps you glued to your seat.  Grant plays Dr. Guy Luthan, a doctor at New York's Gramercy Hospital who, after losing a homeless patient to some mysterious medical symptoms, gets a bit too curious for his own good.  Determined to find out the cause of his patient's death, Dr. Luthan begins to ask a few too many questions, and soon finds the patient's corpse missing, the patient's files destroyed, and he himself framed for theft and drug possession leading to the suspension of his medical license. Oh, what's a guy to do!

Those of you who've seen the trailers for this film already know that the conspiracy revolves around some covert and highly illegal medical research being conducted on human subjects, and not surprisingly the remainder of the film centers around Dr. Luthan's quest to expose this conspiracy.  Luthan, of course, finds himself in deeper and deeper trouble at every turn, and thanks to Grant's convincing performance and Apted's fine directing, the audience is treated to one pretty suspenseful and entertaining movie experience along the way.  Sarah Jessica Parker and Gene Hackman also do nicely in their roles as fellow doctors, but this is really Hugh Grant's movie and he pulls it off amazingly well.  Definitely worth seeing...

IMPRESSIONS

Let this be a lesson: to everyone out there who's ever taken home any supplies from work...just make sure nobody's about to break into your apartment to frame you for something...

Responses from cyberspace -- thanks for the input, folks!

PaleMistress@theglobe.com gives this movie  stars: "Great movie... Especially if you're interested in ethics in medicine. The only gripe I have about it is that Sarah Jessica Parker sort of disappears from the end of the movie. What a shame. But all in all definately worth seeing. I was impressed by Grant's performance." (10/25/99)

Joplin01@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "I love Hugh Grant he is is especially SEXY! But other than that this was a great movie and I loved it it was so suspense filling." (4/30/98)

LTintiangco@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "I would easily have given this film a 5 rating had the final confrontation between the hero and godlike nemesis got into better verbal exhange. Hugh Grant, for all the criticism labeled against as far as acting is concerned, is one hell of a charismatic actor. His performances in "Maurice", "Champagne Charlie", and "Sirens" , are my favorite ones. He is quite adept in dramatic roles though the light romantic comedy ones capture more audience. The boxoffice results of "Extreme" may have been below expectations, but it was a labor of love between Hugh and Elizabeth. They finished the film under budget and in time, that for first-time producers, is quite commendable indeed. More power to them. They seemed to care a lot that they don't compromise their integrity and showed that by choosing this thriller as their first production offerring instead of a surefire romantic comedy, the respectability factor inside the showbusiness faction towards thems, have certainly! risen up. Thank God, there will always be England." (10/5/97)

Anonymous entry of  stars: "Don't be put off by the fact Hugh Grant is in this movie, it's really quite good." (5/13/97)

"Since I haven't liked any, any of the movies Hugh Grant is in, I think I'll pass." --Anonymous entry (11/26/96)

Jeremy King writes: "Just wondering which Extreme Measures you watched.  4 stars, come on!  That movie was the slowest I have ever seen.  Great acting, but that is it, 2 stars tops." (9/29/96)