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Movies / On DVD / Heartbreak Hospital
Heartbreak Hospital

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Heartbreak Hospital (2002)

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Reviews Counted:16

Fresh:4

Rotten:12

Average Rating:4.2/10

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Based on a mystery novel by Henry Slesar, HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL celebrates, sends-up, and otherwise delves into the obsessive weirdness of daytime television. Struggling actress Neely Kendall... Based on a mystery novel by Henry Slesar, HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL celebrates, sends-up, and otherwise delves into the obsessive weirdness of daytime television. Struggling actress Neely Kendall (Chelsea Altman) lands a major part on the popular afternoon soap, HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL, but big-time success ends up straining her relationship with her not-so-famous chef boyfriend Tonio (Demián Bichir). Neely also finds herself hated by the show's resident diva, Sunday Tyler (Diane Venora), who likes to carry an axe around on the set. Then there's Neely's psychotic neighbor Lottie (Patricia Clarkson) who is dangerously obsessed with HOSPITAL's resident hunky doctor Milo (John Shea), whom she thinks is real. When Milo is scheduled to marry Neely's character in an upcoming episode, the stage is set for murder, mystery and mayhem as well as the expected romance and emotional turmoil. If all this sounds like a soap itself, well maybe that's just the point of this energetic, low budget indie. A dollop of quirkiness and some zany performances help smooth out the occasionally uneven tone. Shea and Verona are especially fine, maintaining their over-the-top performances as aging TV stars at just the right altitude. HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL is the first feature for German director Rudolph Gerber. [More]

Starring: Chelsea Altman, Demian Bichir, Patricia Clarkson, John Shea

Starring: Chelsea Altman, Demian Bichir, Patricia Clarkson, John Shea, Diane Venora

Director: Rudolph Gerber

Director: Rudolph Gerber
Screenwriter: Rudolph Gerber
Producer: Ram Bergman, Lemore Syvan, Dana Lustig, Rudolph Gerber
Composer: John M. Davis
Studio: Seventh Art Releasing

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Heartbreak Hospital

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1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/21/08
Ronnie Scheib
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/13/05
Apollo Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
01/15/03
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

The leads we are given here are simply too bland to be interesting.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
12/10/02
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
10/02/02
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

Other than a mildly engaging central romance, Hospital is sickly entertainment at best and mind-destroying cinematic pollution at worst.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/17/02
David Hunter
David Hunter
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unfortunately, Heartbreak Hospital wants to convey the same kind of haughtiness in its own sketchy material but this territory has already been explored previously with better aplomb and sardonic wit.

Full Review Source: TheWorldJournal.com | comment Comment
09/15/02
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
TheWorldJournal.com

This derivative flick cops too much from much-better films like Tootsie, Nurse Betty and Soapdish.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
09/13/02
E! Online

A dreary indulgence.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/12/02
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film's tone and pacing are off almost from the get-go.

comment Comment
09/12/02
Jean Oppenheimer
Jean Oppenheimer
New Times

The director, with his fake backdrops and stately pacing, never settles on a consistent tone.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/12/02
Chuck Wilson
Chuck Wilson
L.A. Weekly

It's quite diverting nonsense.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
09/09/02
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

You've already seen Heartbreak if you've watched the far superior Nurse Betty or Sunset Boulevard. Even the unwatchable Soapdish is more original.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
09/06/02
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Citysearch

Desperately unfunny when it tries to makes us laugh and desperately unsuspenseful when it tries to make us jump out of our seats.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
09/05/02
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Dodgy mixture of cutesy romance, dark satire and murder mystery.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/05/02
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An excruciating demonstration of the unsalvageability of a movie saddled with an amateurish screenplay.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/05/02
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A deliberative account of a lifestyle characterized by its surface-obsession – one that typifies the delirium of post, pre, and extant stardom.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
09/03/02
Jon Lap
Jon Lap
Apollo Guide

Sluggish, tonally uneven.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
09/03/02
Laura Rothstein
Laura Rothstein
Village Voice
 
 
1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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