JIM reviews film "EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES"

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Extraordinary Measures

MY Rating:

8 of 10 stars (based on an advance-screening of the 105-minute film).

“Indy” goes “MEDICINAL”: Prickly Curmudgeons can be HELPFUL sometimes

There are many “worthy” charities around, making it hard at times to decide what to support — & how to determine whether ones that seem fine are really being “up-front” in what they claim (rather than being one of the numerous scams that abound in our world today)…

… This film is based on the true story of a man named John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) who works at a large pharmaceutical company. He & his loving wife Aileen (Keri Russell) have had three kids: energetic John Jr. (Sam M. Hall); and, due to a twist of fate, 2 younger ones who chanced to have a form of Muscular Dystrophy called Pompe’s disease- spunky 8-year-old Megan (Meredith Droeger) who loves tooling around in her electric wheelchair, and even weaker 6-year-old Patrick (Diego Velazquez)…

… The two ill kids take what medications are available for their condition, but it clearly isn’t “enough” to really help them, & they keep growing sicker as time goes on… Brendan spends loads of time trying to find some possible medical “answer” to their problem, but it’s been years of frustrating failures…

… At one point, Brendan reads of a possible major improvement by a scientist named Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford). He tries to reach him at his University workplace, but Harrison is a rebel who only likes doing things his OWN way: working loads of after-hours at his labs (as he blasts out rock music in the background), & regularly IGNORING messages Brendan leaves for him…

… When his sick kids start to deteriorate even more, Brendan suddenly leaves his job & flies to Nebraska to try to MEET with Harrison (which is very hard to do)… In time, he tracks him down & explains why it’s so important to him to try to BACK Harrison in his discovery work (since it seems the most advanced effort being done to try to find some cure for the disease)… Harrison explains how, in Pompe, the sufferers are missing an enzyme, & that allows sugar to build up to a dangerous level, adversely affecting the internal organs…

… Although he doesn’t personally have the money Harrison said he needs to fund an expanded effort to try to find the “answer” to the affliction, Brendan agrees to RAISE the required money. He & Keri start contacting OTHER people around the country who have kids suffering from the disease — such as Marcus Temple (Courtney B. Vance) — , & they eventually come up with a goodly percentage of what’s essential as ‘seed” money…

… Brendan agrees to LEAVE his regular job to try & build their new startup venture… But, most “startups” don’t really get PROPERLY started, & that’s what happens in this case… Brendan gets Harrison to go with him to try to raise some Venture Capital money from a Dr. Renzler in Chicago… After that, they hire young students to help them in their new company…

… Progress is made, but, it’s not “enough”, & they have to get involved with ANOTHER drug-development (biotech type) company called Zymagen in the Northwest, run by CEO Erich Loring (Patrick Bauchau) & his bottom-line-oriented everyday manager Dr. Kent Webber (Jared Harris)…

… Will Harrison’s theory prove CORRECT?… Will a drug be developed that provides the PROGRESS the kids need?… Will there be more “TWISTS” on the road to getting them help?… What’s going on with “Uncle Bobby”?…

… I found the film to be a WARM-hearted, “personal” portrayal of the difficulties in bringing a new medicine to the general public, and how much “individual” people can matter at times… Some in the audience were CHEERING near the end. I found the major actors did a fine, believable job, with Harrison especially adept at his “loner scientist” role…