Gross Anatomy (1989)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Thom Eberhardt

Writers (WGA):

Mark Spragg (story) and
Howard Rosenman (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

No one thought a rebel like Joe Slovak would make it through Medical School. But they didn't know Joe.

Plot:

A smart first-year med student takes nothing seriously, except the pursuit of his Gross Anatomy (human dissection) lab partner...

Plot Keywords:

College | Medical School | Medical | Illness | Cheating

Cast

Matthew Modine	...	Joe Slovak
Daphne Zuniga	...	Laurie Rorbach
Christine Lahti	...	Dr. Rachel Woodruff
Todd Field	...	David Schreiner
John Scott Clough	...	Miles Reed
Alice Carter	...	Kim McCauley
Robert Desiderio	...	Dr. Banks
Zakes Mokae	...	Dr. Banumbra
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Interviewing Professor
John Petlock	...	Interviewing Professor
J. Patrick McNamara	...	Interviewing Professor
Jan Munroe	...	Interviewing Professor
Kay E. Kuter	...	Lecturing Professor
Michael Flanagan	...	Lecturing Professor
Don Perry	...	Lecturing Professor
J.C. Quinn	...	Papa Slovak
Rutanya Alda	...	Mama Slovak
Brandis Kemp	...	Aunt Rose
Ryan Cash	...	Frankie Slovak
Angus MacInnes	...	Dean Torrence
Lisa Zane	...	Luann
Alison Taylor	...	Cynthia Wilkes
Michael Stoyanov	...	Joel Cleaver
Max Perlich	...	Ethan Cleaver
Bruce Beatty	...	Kelly
John Short	...	Resident
Steven Culp	...	Jerry Fanning Forrester
Scott Allan Campbell	...	Ed McCauley
Elizabeth Gilliam	...	Nina McCauley
Gordon Clapp	...	Doctor
Jack Murdock	...	Old Man Patient
Kimberly Scott	...	Nurse Louise
Diane Robin	...	Waitress
Rick Goldman	...	Truck Driver
Tom Kurlander	...	Student
Susanne Goldstein	...	Student
Beth Hogan	...	Marie
O. LaRon Clark	...	Food Server
Russell Bobbitt	...	Gunshot Victim
Frank Torres	...	Gang Member
Bill E. Rogers	...	Cop
Frank Foti Jr.	...	Cop
Pola Del Mar	...	Gang Member's Mother
Jesse Anthony Gonzalez	...	Gang Member's Father
Arlin Miller	...	(voice)
Greg Finley	...	(voice)
Paige Pollack	...	(voice)
Cathy Cavadini	...	(voice)
Steve Alterman	...	(voice)
David Randolph	...	(voice)
David Coburn	...	(voice)
Vernon Scott	...	(voice)
Susan Napoli	...	(voice) (as Stephanie Ryan)
Richard Penn	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Fleischer
Walter Kim	...	Medical Student (uncredited)
Dana Vitatoe	...	Medical student (uncredited)

Directed by
Thom Eberhardt

Writing credits (WGA)
Mark Spragg		(story) and
Howard Rosenman		(story) &
Alan Jay Glueckman		(story) &
Stanley Isaacs		(story)
Ron Nyswaner		(screenplay) and
Mark Spragg		(screenplay)

Produced by
Carol Baum	....	executive producer
Sandy Gallin	....	executive producer
Debra Hill	....	producer
Howard Rosenman	....	producer

Original Music by
David Newman

Cinematography by
Steve Yaconelli

Film Editing by
Bud S. Smith
M. Scott Smith

Casting by
Judith Weiner

Production Design by
William F. Matthews

Art Direction by
P. Michael Johnston

Set Decoration by
Catherine Mann

Costume Design by
Gale Parker

Makeup Department
Edouard F. Henriques	....	makeup artist (as Edouard F. Henriques III)
Scott Oshita	....	special makeup effects artist
Elaina P. Schulman	....	chief hair stylist
Yolanda Toussieng	....	hair stylist
Brian Wade	....	special effects makeup artist: cadavors

Production Management
Morgan Michael Fottrell	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Coad	....	second assistant director
Bruce Humphrey	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Russell Bobbitt	....	assistant property master
Roger Del Negro	....	property master
Ildefonso Goris	....	greensman
Keith A. Kropf	....	head painter
Lauren E. Polizzi	....	set designer (as Lauren Polizzi)
Claude F. Powell	....	construction coordinator (as Claude Powell)
Mark Powell	....	construction foreman
Jerry Wax	....	lead man

Sound Department
Ken Beauchene	....	boom operator
William C. Carruth	....	adr editor (as William Carruth)
Craig Clark	....	supervising sound editor
Mike Dobie	....	supervising sound editor
David J. Hudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Kern	....	sound editor
Mel Metcalfe	....	sound re-recording mixer
Colin C. Mouat	....	sound editor (as Colin Mouat)
Jack M. Nietzsche Jr.	....	sound effects assistant (as Jack Nietzsche)
Terry Porter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jill Smith	....	sound effects assistant (as Jill C. Smith)
Ralph Stuart	....	sound effects assistant
James M. Tanenbaum	....	sound mixer (as Jim Tanenbaum)

Special Effects by
Calvin Joe Acord	....	special effects coordinator
Nick Benson	....	special effects

Stunts
Frank Torres	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard J. Cartwright	....	still photographer (as Richard Cartwright)
Jay Davis	....	grip
Scott Fieldsteel	....	best boy electric
Frank Keever	....	key grip
William Kenney	....	dolly grip (as William G. Kenney)
Ross A. Maehl	....	gaffer (as Ross Maehl)
Russell McElhatton	....	first assistant camera
Edward Morey III	....	camera operator (as Ed Morey III)
Joe A. Ponticelle	....	second assistant camera (as Joseph Ponticelle)
Phil Walker	....	best boy electric (as Philip Walker)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lisa Lovaas	....	costume supervisor
Kenn Smiley	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Richard Alderete	....	first assistant editor
Gillian L. Hutshing	....	assistant editor (as Gillian Hutshing)
Craig Kitson	....	assistant editor
Michael Mulconery	....	second assistant editor
Robert Raring	....	color timer (as Bob Raring)

Music Department
Tim Boyle	....	music scoring mixer
Virginia Cook-McGowan	....	music editor
Craig Pettigrew	....	music editor
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Tom Villano	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Tom Briggs	....	transportation captain
Tom F. Thomas	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
William Bowling	....	location manager
Seth Cirker	....	assistant location manager
Alex Cohen	....	production assistant
Pam Cornfeld-Walker	....	production coordinator (as Pam Cornfeld)
Camille Griffin	....	first assistant accountant
Lin Hempling	....	assistant: Mr. Rosenman
Beth Klein	....	production assistant
Linda Klein	....	medical technical advisor
Rob Meisenholder	....	assistant accountant
Lloyd Nelson	....	script supervisor
Susan Halli Shaffer	....	unit publicist
Sharon L. Simon	....	production accountant (as Sharon Simon)
Leslie Sungail	....	production assistant
Yvette Taylor	....	assistant: Ms. Hill
Donn Warr Lewis	....	intern

Production Companies

• Hill/Rosenman
• Sandollar Productions
• Silver Screen Partners IV
• Touchstone Pictures

Distributors

• Buena Vista Pictures

Special Effects

• Makeup Effects Laboratories

Other Companies

• Buena Vista Sound  sound re-recording
• Buena Vista Visual Effects  titles and opticals
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Movie Movers  cast trailers

Also Known As:

A Cut Above

Runtime:

Canada:109 min | USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hill/Rosenman

Goofs:

Continuity: Joe Slovak's shirttails unroll during the final scene.

Quotes:

Kim McCauley: [Kim is going into labor in a roadside cafe] Guys, I'm gonna have this baby now!
Joe Slovak: Miles, give me your shirt!
Miles Reed: What? This is silk!

Soundtrack:

Burnin'

Underrated character flick nobody ever talks about

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.