Dr T and the Women (2000)

Like an unexpected Texas thunderstorm, pathos of biblical proportions pours onto the perfect life of Dr. Sullivan Travis in DR T & THE WOMEN. However, bringing this modern day "Story of Job" to life in Dallas, Texas, couldn't have been a sunnier experience for Director/Producer Robert Altman and company.

In fact, the only lightning bolt striking this film is its surprise ending. While all involved have been sworn to secrecy, it can be revealed that there are two surprises that wrap up DR. T & THE WOMEN: one a plot point and the other a moment that is both unforgettable and unprecedented in feature films. Astounding and deeply moving, it's a moment that only Altman could deliver. Ending aside, what made this production a particular delight for the director was its beginning--the casting.

Once cast, "I knew 85 percent of my job was done, most of my creative work finished," he said. "The actors know what to do. Mainly, I'm just there to turn off the light switch," added Altman, the modest four-time Academy Award nominee (Short Cuts, The Player, Nashville, M*A *S*H)

From the beginning, he could only see Richard Gere as the gynecologist of choice for women -- young and old alike. "Richard as a gynecologist will titillate a lot of women," Altman notes slyly, "and make a lot of men very curious."

Then there were the women--nine principals, 50 day players and innumerable extras floating in and out of the film from beginning to end. Aside from eight of the leading actresses, the rest--including Janine Turner -- were cast right in Dallas, Altman said. "And they all improvised brilliant small bits, creating the crazy atmosphere of Dr. T's office staff and patients."

Screenwriter Anne Rapp, a native Texan and former "Dallasite" herself, who with this film marks her second theatrical collaboration with Altman (Cookie's Fortune), was quick to note this satiric romantic comedy "is complete fiction. Bob and I had been talking about doing a story of what happens to this guy swimming in a sea of women. We thought it would be great to make this guy a gynecologist, which for many men would be the perfect job. At least that is what they might think."

"This story is just incredibly fresh and probably the straightest character I've ever played," said Gere. "He's a real Republican, a gynecologist to the country club set... a good, solid guy who loves his family. He genuinely loves women. They're everywhere in his life. Even his shotgun is named after a woman. Everything is a woman's energy. And he won't allow his hunting buddies to say anything negative about women because women to him are saints. He loves them too much." Gathering the necessary medical information to play a gynecologist was simplified for Gere as his wife was expecting a baby at the time, prompting many visits to the OB/GYN. When asked about the fascination that men have about women and their relationship with their gynecologist, Gere defers to Altman. "I think it's Bob's demented curiosity," he joked.

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