Dr. T & The Women

Director Robert Altman reteams with Cookie's Fortune scribe Anne Rapp for this tale of a Dallas gynecologist and the parade of anxious patients, haggard family members, and potential love interests who come his way. Richard Gere plays the titular role of Dr. Sullivan Travis, a calm, successful, and much sought-after ob-gyn who witnesses his normally stable life come apart over the course of one rainy autumn. As the film opens, Dr. T and his wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett) are preparing for the wedding of their Dallas Cowboys cheerleader daughter Dee Dee (Kate Hudson). Their other daughter — the Kennedy-assassination conspiracy theorist Connie (Tara Reid) — has her doubts about the impending nuptials, but Dr. T chalks them up to routine sibling jealousy. Meanwhile, escaping a messy divorce, boozy sister-in-law Peggy (Laura Dern) moves into the Travis household with her three toddler daughters in tow. For release, Dr. T finds solace target shooting and golfing (occasionally at the same time) with his buddies, and at his country club, he meets a beguiling golf pro, Bree (Helen Hunt). When the childlike Kate loses her grip on reality during a flatware shopping spree, Bree offers to give the kindly doctor some lessons in his swing — both on and off the fairways. Dr. T had its North American Premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Fest. — Michael Hastings