Tom Vaughan's generically titled Extraordinary Measures is the first release by the rejuvenated CBS Films, the on-again, off-again feature film division of CBS Corporation (home of Survivor, Race, etc.), and it's about as tailored-for-television as a movie can get without containing actual commercial breaks.
Adapted from Geeta Anand's novel 'The Cure,' it casts Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell as John and Aileen Crowley, dedicated parents of two irascible children born with Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder. Though medical experts routinely inform the parents that their kids are living on borrowed time, John sacrifices his medical-sales career -- and his family's precious insurance -- to partner with a curmudgeonly scientist who has come close to devising the world's first treatment plan for Pompe.
Salty language and the presence of venerable movie star Harrison Ford as ornery Dr. Robert Stonehill earn Measures a brief theatrical run instead of a Sunday night timeslot. And to his credit, Ford doesn't coast through his role as the Crowley's reluctant savior -- as an executive producer, Ford has a vested interest in the project's success, after all. He injects the indignant frustration of an educated snob when he barks medical jargon at nosy venture capitalists, bellowing, 'I'm purifying it out of lactating bovine udders' without cracking a smile. Fraser can't match Ford's intensity. He believes he's conveying parental concern by delivering lines at half his normal audio level. Maybe Fraser would be more animated if he was racing the clock to cure a million-year-old mummy?
Speaking of parental concerns, Measure should have nailed me to the back of the theater. As the father of two boys, I'm the easiest mark Vaughan could find. Certain commercials choke me up. The opening sequence of Andrew Stanton's Finding Nemo reduces me to a quivering mound of parental jelly. Measures should have reached me on that emotional level, but it didn't prompt one sob or earn a single tear. It's too safe, too bland
a shameless heartstring tugger that all but strains its finger pushing our buttons. Ford transcends Vaughan's hold-your-hand direction with minimal effort. The rest of Measures, despite the title, is pretty ordinary.
