Back in the late 1990s, the second channel of our notional TV used to air some foreign stuff after its longest newscast in 1:00 AM (Events of 24 Hours). The TV guide had the slightest idea about that. So it was utterly surprising everyday. And at one sleepless night, I met (Bad Medicine).While being no one-star-show, I believe this movie is owned by (Alan Arkin). True there were (Steve Guttenberg), (Julie Hagerty), and other – no less funny or cute – cast members, but when it comes to Dr. (Ramón Madera) I just give up ! That character is unforgettable. He's a cold-hearted, restrainedly romantic, absolutely serious and funny dean / dictator. At the part of falling in love with (Hagerty) he delivered some of his best moments, and I'm talking about both (Madera) and (Arkin). By the way, for years I used to refer to this movie as nothing but "Madera's School" ! The rest of the characters were well made and portrayed. The comedy is serene. There was no violence, cursing, sexual joking, etc; namely the heavily ugly time that they call comedy in our times. Even the corpse's sequence was done beautifully, without any disgusting sense of humor.Using certain ways, concerning arranging the letters, to memorize things while studying is perhaps something has been invented by smart student once. It's a good detail this movie captured. And it implied that this movie – as a whole – was made by smart people. Unlike many many American comedies nowadays, this little comedy gained more than the double of its budget (Cost : $1,289,783. Gross : $2,685,453). So I don't know why it isn't so popular, unless for those who don't find any sleep in 2 AM ! Bad medicine, good comedy, and nice memory indeed.

The archetype of Medical School Comedy is the British film DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE to which no American flick can hardly dare to be compared.Yet this film and Gross Anatomy deserve an honorable though distant second place. In BAD MEDICINE young Americans out of the zone of consideration for American schools transplant themselves to Latin America to study medicine against the challenges of a strong local culture, particularly the absolutism of Latin schools where discipline is considerably more rigorous than back home.There are two characters who best represent the reaction of the locals: the director of the school who openly tells Americans: HERE WE ARE THE ELITE and the director's secretary who proclaims her love for American culture having studied it thoroughly through Philip Roth's pulp novels.But there is a serious side to the dictatorial ways of the director. A doctor handles people's lives and must account for his actions.That degree of understanding of the serious task at hand is bye the bye entirely lost in PATCH ADAMS who can cause a young med student's death and make a joke of it.

Some reviewers panned this movie rather severely, but my wife and I thought it was hilarious. Arkin is great, no matter what accent he is using. I especially like Lalo Schifrin's wonderful score. We still occasionally roll the tape and enjoy it again. From some of the comments I have read, I can only gather that the writers confused this picture with the much less entertaining "Stitches", released the same year.

Steve Guttenberg took some time off from his "Police Academy" films with this sleight comedy that has the youngster going to medical school in Mexico after being rejected all over the U.S. There are truly some really funny moments and there is enough interest built up to make the finale feel appropriate, even if it is somewhat forced. Watchable and not a total waste from the sorry genre that dominated the 1980s. 2.5 out of 5 stars.