Dr. T: Richard Gere	Bree: Helen Hunt
Kate: Farrah Fawcett	Carolyn: Shelley Long
Connie: Tara Reid	Dee Dee: Kate Hudson
Peggy: Laura Dern	Marilyn: Liv Tyler
Director: Robert Altman	Maria: Irene Cortez

30 Second Bottom Line: A Dallas gynecologist, with a definite upper class practice, balances, with amazing unflappability, his patients and the women in his personal life, including his wife, daughters and the golf pro at his country club.

Story Line: Dr. T (Richard Gere) is living the life of the rich and famous, with a robust medical practice, estate home, fancy cars, country club membership, and time for hunting with his running buddies.

His wife, Kate (Farrah Fawcett), wanders off while shopping with her sister Peggy (Laura Dern) and daughter Dee Dee (Kate Hudson). Kate acts strangely, and we wonder if she might do a little shoplifting from Tiffany's. Champagne sipping sister, Peggy, slides her way through her days with a glass of bubbly at the ready. Kate's drug of choice may be in prescription pill form. She peels off her clothes as she wades into a water fountain. She is arrested and held for psychiatric observation.

Dr. T is a gynecologist who is medically good and has a great bedside manner…witness his overflowing waiting room. He is an ethical and patient doctor. Some need to be told they are not overweight when they are, or that the hot flashes of menopause are no big thing. His office manager, Carolyn (Shelley Long), is super efficient while keeping order in a waiting room that is crazier than ER on television.

Dr. T's daughter, Dee Dee, is engaged to be married, and her sister Connie (Tara Reid) is concerned about the relationship between Dee Dee and her maid of honor Marilyn (Liv Tyler).

The doctor takes a golf lesson from the new pro at the country club, Bree (Helen Hunt), and they soon become friends. Dr. T's problem with women is that he gives them too much. He is dedicated to his patients; sister-in-law Peggy has moved in with her two daughters, and drinks champagne morning, noon and night; and Kate has received so much attention that she can no longer thinks for herself, and has drifted off to the land of Oz. When it appears that Dr. T and Kate will be separated, either permanently or for an extended period, he succumbs to the charms of Bree. Bree is different in that she is an independent woman.

The wedding day finally arrives and events occur that are reminiscent of Forces of Nature and Magnolia…the glorious chaos of the human spirit. Dr. T becomes a changed man. He was not a bad one to begin with, yet he becomes a better one.

Tell Me More About It: Richard Gere is one of the few actors who could be cast with so many strong women, in a film touching on numerous female issues. His character deals with a wife who is mentally unstable; an eccentric sister-in-law in her own world; the emotional issues of two very different adult daughters; his office manager secretly has the hots for him; an all-about-town female golf pro has a mind of her own; and an unnamed Mexican woman, whom he assists in the delivery of her child, changes his life.

Director Robert Altman defines the concept of an ensemble cast. In this film, he has over 70 "main" characters. Helen Hunt is one of them. It's interesting to note that she is making the most of a long 15 minutes of fame. She plays a major role in four films in wide release between October and December; Pay it Forward with Kevin Spacey; What Women Want with Mel Gibson and Cast Away with Tom Hanks. She is definitely running with the big boys. We know she can carry 30 minutes on TV, and she's great in supporting roles at the multiplex. The question remains …can she be the lead in a film there?

What could also be called "Female Airheads of Dallas", Dr.. T and the Women is a tongue in cheek statement about the upper class in general. Many ensemble pieces cover life in southern California, and while this is Dallas in particular, it could have been New York, Chicago or Seattle. Having money often changes people and not necessarily for the better.

Possibly the most interesting character is Bree. Helen Hunt has become a master at stealing the show. Bree is a golf pro, who happens not to be a man, but who acts like one. She is independent and does not want one man to do everything for her. Think of her as the club tennis pro, to whom married female members not only are attracted, but follow through with in a sexual fling.

Without doubt this is one of the best chick flicks to come along in a long time. The difference is that it's not as much about the women as it is about the men. This may be the first chick flick for men, as they will enjoy it as much, if not more than women. They get a chance to not just see themselves in the mirror, but how others see them.

Richard Gere: Autumn in New York	Helen Hunt: As Good as it Gets
Farrah Fawcett: The Apostle	Shelley Long: Vanished W/O a Trace-TV
Tara Reid: American Pie	Kate Hudson: Almost Famous
Laura Dern: October Sky	Liv Tyler: Armageddon
Robert Altman: