I was recently given this film as a present.I know it was made about 20 yrs ago,and don't know how it did at the box office.But I found that it was not dated at all.In fact,I thought it was very good indeed.The story is of post-graduate students(in this case at medical school,but could be anything) in a high pressure;high work;intensive environment.It could be any grad school experience in a serious subject. The stresses and strains of coping with the exams and workloads for students from different backgrounds and with different motivations is well covered.The eventual focus is on a seemingly relaxed and laid back guy(modine) who does not seem to put in the effort of the others but does very well somehow(he does work hard but not publicly).And a young woman(Zuniga) who is very much work focused.Naturally they are attracted to each other.But while he is open about his interest,she is in denial and even tells him she has no time for anything other than achieving her academic goals.She also seems to have an-on/off occasional boyfriend who shows up just at the point where it causes maximum damage to Modine's feelings for her.Some of their fellow students also face their trials and tribulations with success and failure.And there are some strong dramatic bits.Modine is great and full of charm.And Zuniga is also excellent as the young woman who falls for him despite her vows to the contrary. Well acted and a movie you can watch with pleasure again and again.

I am the guy(the teacher assistant) pointing at the diagram on the chalkboard(for about 3 seconds) in the movie.(no kidding) The movie itself is largely entertaining, though predictable. It is obvious the guy will get the girl in the end, though what he has to go through to get her makes it interesting.If I were interested in going to medical school, seeing this movie might make me think twice about it.Still, it illustrates the same tired theme of many other movies. This being, "You gotta really want it, more than anything else, if you're gonna get through it successfully."Daphne Zuniga is enchanting in her role and Matthew Modine is annoying in his. I almost hoped he wouldn't end up with her. It reminded me a bit of his role in "Full Metal Jacket." Maybe they should have called him "Joker" in this movie,too.Overall,a pleasant, if inconsequential, movie.

Aside from the goofy title, this is a nice diversion of a film. Matthew Modine plays the role he does so well (see "Married to the Mob"). Casual about authority, bucking the system, a great guy at heart. Daphne Zuniga starts out stuffy and learns to relax. Good fun.

Not a great film, I suppose, but "Gross Anatomy" has enough that's entertaining, engaging and memorable about it to recommend the film to fans of character drama. "ER" and "Chicago Hope" may well have set the standard for medical dramas, but this look at some first-year med students and their quest to achieve the impossible (become a practicing surgeon or specialist) has long since been forgotten in the trash-bin of seemingly negatable Disney flicks. Released at the turn of the 80's, when Disney was rampantly putting out what seemed like a movie a week, it features a sterling performance by the eternally underrated Matthew Modine as Joe Slovak, an endlessly appealing character despite his tendency to annoy everyone else in the film. Slovak is a wonderful creation on the part of the writers, first seen in a highly memorable pre-credits sequence in which each of the post-grad medical schools asks him questions that eventually reveal the 'real Joe'. Or at least the Joe Slovak he wishes to project. Christine Lahti, who would of course go on to fame and acclaim in "Chicago Hope", practiced her medical chops here as a sickly professor bent on pressuring her students to achieve perfection, even if they themselves aren't often willing to reach for it. The rest of the cast (Daphne Zuniga and the always-great Todd Fields) have done work elsewhere that's gotten more attention, but it's doubtful they've ever been as effective as they are here. By no means is this a classic, but a sharply-observed film that despite a layer of Disney-esque schmaltz manages to touch, entertain and invigorate.