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The Carey Treatment (1972)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
2/21
2/21:
Not exactly The Hospital, The Carey Treatment is a fun 70's murder mystery thriller with doctors involved.
It's an interesting change of scenery for Blake Edwards who was more into romance with witty writing. However, the
movie was edited so badly that it's not close to what he envisioned. Blake Edwards would eventually do a
satirical picture called S.O.B. about his experience working on The Carey Treatment.
A lot of times, I was thinking of Coma but didn't realize until the end that Michael Crichton (credited as Jeffery
Hudson in the film which wasn't revealed until decades later) penned the story. What's nice is it moves at a brisk pace.
The winner is James Coburn who has great style: mellow and easygoing. He's also the perfect actor to embody the 70's.
Of course, James Coburn needs a hip girl, and it's Jennifer O'Neill who supplies it in a heavy dose. The best part is
when his character gave a frightened girl the Carey treatment by driving recklessly fast to get answers which is reminiscent
of Alec Baldwin doing the same to Demi Moore in The Juror.
The trouble with the film is that it's low in substance. Moreover, the scheme is far-fetched. One has to be a genius to come
up with something like this. At least, a nasty villain is provided by Michael Blodgett as Roger Hudson. The massage scene
between him and Coburn is high in tension.
All in all, The Carey Treatment isn't bad, having been saved by the ever-charismatic James Coburn.