Educational Media Reviews Online

For those who are familiar with the Robin Williams "Patch Adams," this film doesn't present much new information about his early life, but it does bring the viewer up-to-date on Adams' activities. For someone who hasn't seen the movie version of Patch's life, then this documentary may not provide enough background to illustrate his David and Goliath struggle against the inhumanity of medicine and the medical education establishment. Bourque follows Adams around as he takes his clown troupe into hospitals in the United States and abroad and as he conducts workshops on using joy and laughter in healing. She interviews participants in Adams' "joyful service" retreats at his West Virginia Gesundheit Institute. The most powerful sequence illustrates the response of elderly patients to the attention and touch of the clowns. With only an hour to make her point, Bourque would have been better off picking one aspect of his work and exploring it more deeply. As it is, The Real Patch Adams is a cursory introduction. For high school and up; useful to stimulate discussion of humor, healing, and values. Recommended.