Extraordinary Measures

I never really had a strong inclination to watch this film, but like many times before, it just happened to be on I within 5 minutes I was glued. I knew the premise, and secretly I hoped Harrison Ford would actually turn in a decent role that doesn't involve him cracking a whip. Let's face it, as of late he has not made the best of choices when it comes to the roles he plays. On the other side of that we have Brendan Fraser. When you look at his body of work, it makes you wonder if the guy can even do a serious role. 3 Mummy movies, Monkeybone, Airheads, Inkheart.... the list goes on, but he hasn't had a good meaty role like School Ties, since School Ties. This film is about a Father's struggle with the fact that 2 of his 3 kids have a rare genetic disease called Pompe. Pompe is extremely rare and fatal. Kids don't last long if they have the disease. When John Crowley (Fraser) has to either accept the inevitability of his kids death or try and change the world, he votes for the latter. He gets on a plane and heads to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. There is where he believes the scientist is that has the cure. Bob Stonehill (Ford) has brilliant theories, but no funding or support from the university. John says he will get him the half a million dollars necessary to start some series lab work on these theories. He is able to raise about 1/5 of that, but Stonehill accepts anyway. They start their own company. John is now CEO, which sounds great except that he walked away from an extremely successful high paying job to work on this, for which he knows nothing about. Stonehill is a bitter old man who doesn't like to be interrupted. He has his way of doing things, and you don't like that, then piss off, as far as he is concerned. With films that involve children, illness, and are based on true stories, they generally end the way the audience feels they should. It was not surprising to me how it ended, but it still gave me chill bumps. It's hard to watch as a parent, but at the same time, it is about the perseverance of one's goal when the lives of their kids are on the line. It was one of the best performances by both Ford and Fraser that I've seen in a very long time. I really enjoyed this film.

NBM rates Extraordinary Measures - Awesome

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