There are many principles that medical doctors are required to follow, some more practical while others veer towards the philosophical. Yet, perhaps the most important is the pledge to “first do no harm”, which forms part of the Hippocratic Oath that all medical professionals are told to use as the guiding factor into their professional endeavours. Yet, like any profession, this is the first principle that is questioned when it comes to making a comedy, as we see in the case of Critical Condition, a very funny film in which writers Dennis and John Hamill tell the story of a con man who is so insistent on avoiding prison, he pleads insanity and is told that he will be a resident in a psychiatric ward for three weeks in order to assess whether he is deemed mentally unfit, which would be the only way to avoid incarceration. Nothing goes right, and matters are only further complicated when the hospital is struck by lightning, leading to a series of misadventures that find our protagonist taking on the role of a doctor, doing his best to make his escape while also essentially taking charge of a hospital plunged into chaos. A strange film that is only made more peculiar through the enlistment of Michael Apted to helm the production, the esteemed auteur stepping out of his usual dramatic mode to direct this off-the-wall comedy that proves to be quite a polarising affair, for several reasons. Not a complete failure, but still a film that struggles to escape many of its shortcomings, mainly due to it having too many ideas that simply could not be adequately tied up without expending too much energy, which virtually no one in this film seemed willing to do. It has its merits, and it is a mostly entertaining diversion, but there are aspects of Critical Condition that feel quite misguided, enough for us to quietly wonder whether or not this was the right approach for a germ of an idea that was far more promising than the final product.

The intentions of a film like Critical Condition are obvious from the start, since our first encounter with the protagonist and his unquenchable desperation makes it quite clear what the film was aiming to achieve, both narratively and in terms of its execution. This is constructed as a complex social satire that attempts to lampoon multiple different institutions at once, finding a way to merge scathing commentary on the brutality of the justice system with the failings of the American healthcare industry, two very distinct and relevant concepts that would make superb films all on their own, but which were combined in what proved to be a much more complex film that we would expect based on its premise. The specific impetus behind its creation is not clear, but it’s obvious that the directors were attempting to form a film that offered a raw glimpse into a system in which they had lost faith, much like many ordinary Americans. The decision to make it a comedy feels like an artistic choice and more like a necessity, since humour usually allows for a kind of flexibility that is mostly implausible in more dramatic works. The idea of a slapstick comedy set in a hospital in which everything that can go wrong ultimately does, often being far more chaotic than we could ever imagine – yet, it still doesn’t quite manage to fit in all that well when we look at how these ideas are executed, and we begin to wonder precisely where it started to get derailed, which is likely from the very start, when the screenwriters attempt to combine two very promising ideas into a single film, the seams between them becoming increasingly obvious as the story progresses.

Based on the above assessment, it is clear that some comedies exist to be purely entertaining, whereas others try to convey a deeper or more important message. The root cause of all the problems in Critical Condition is related to the fact that, for some inexplicable reason, it attempts to be both, which is not entirely impossible, but still quite rare to find being done successfully, especially when it is helmed by someone who wasn’t known for comedic films. Instead, this either needed to be handled by a director with an abundance of experience in comedy, or someone who would at least know how to pace it correctly so that it doesn’t become such a jumbled, overlong affair. The film is only 90 minutes in length, but it feels twice as long, which is not only due to the jagged pacing but also the fervent refusal to choose a particular tone or overall approach. Critical Condition is marketed as some eccentric, slapstick-infused comedy, and it is certainly true that a lot of the film relies on sight gags and over-the-top physical humour that would lead us to believe that this was its primary intention. Had it stayed focused on this style, it would have been far more successful – it’s the fact that midway through, it shifts gears and becomes some overly sentimental, almost melodramatic affair, that diminishes the impact. The reality is that this film does not quite know what it wants to be, and ultimately ends up taking itself way too seriously, never knowing where to settle and eventually just finding the easiest way to get its message across is through the most heavy-handed means imaginable, since it doesn’t require finding clever, more subversive techniques, and can instead go for the most convenient and obvious route, which prevents it from being anything more than entirely serviceable at the best of moments.

When it comes time to casting a film like Critical Condition, there is very little argument towards it being most effective as a starring vehicle for a popular comedic actor, at least in the form it ultimately takes (there is an alternate reality in which this is a much more simple, nuanced affair that leans more into the underlying drama, which would require a more experienced actor), which is ultimately how it came to be a film crafted around Richard Pryor’s iconic persona. A talented actor, but not one ever entirely capable of playing a character not intrinsically based on the persona he crafted on stage over the years, Pryor is doing solid but predictable work here – a skittish, ne’er-do-well who gets himself into precarious situations, from which escape is seemingly impossible, yet he nonetheless finds a way. Critical Condition is a film in which the viewer can immediately decide whether or not they are on board with what it is doing, since absolutely everything about it can be traced back to an extended series of running gags based on Pryor’s tendency to simply get in trouble, regardless of how much he attempts to avoid it. It’s difficult to judge his work here, since there’s nothing particularly notable about it – he’s playing a very familiar kind of character, and while he does hit all the marks and deliver every line with the commitment we’ve expected, it’s not an exciting performance. The rest of the ensemble cast does do their best, but it’s also a slightly large group of actors, meaning there isn’t enough space to give them all something valuable, or resolve the arcs that are started throughout the film. It’s unfortunately not the best work for anyone involved, and it often seems as if everyone simply did what was required without ever being impelled to go the additional mile, which is an expected but still somewhat unfortunate turn of events for an otherwise potentially great film.

A slightly vulgar but appropriate description for Critical Condition would be that it defines the niche sub-genre of the “lunatic takes over the asylum” comedy, which is a trope that we see on occasion, even when it is only marginally related – an outsider with a peculiar disposition finds themselves in a precarious situation where chaos surrounds them, and only through employing the most inane and off-the-wall methods are they able to soothe the situation and bring order, which is a very effective comedic approach, albeit one that needs the right directorial vision to be able to be effective. Critical Condition is not strong enough to realize all of its ideas, and while Apted is a very good filmmaker, he was not nearly honed enough in the art of broad comedy to make it worthwhile, leading to a mostly misguided attempt at slapstick that begins to fall apart at the seams, especially when it starts to veer towards sentimental, which didn’t have any legitimate place in this film. Having an emotional core is not a negative trait, but it becomes frustrating when there isn’t any attempt to earn our sympathy – this is a deeply cynical, harsh film that makes brutal observations about the mistreatment of healthcare workers and the greed of governmental institutions, and its efforts to turn this potentially great concept into a wacky, off-the-wall comedy (which is not even all that funny after a while – the novelty wears off very quickly and never returns) creates an unlikable, uneven film that does entertain up to a certain point before just becoming tiresome. It’s not entirely disastrous, but there are moments where we begin to wonder how much longer until it reaches a discernible point, which never quite arrives until the sudden and unsatisfying conclusion. The comedy is decent, but it’s overshadowed by a weak narrative and a tonal shift that is entirely unearned, which ultimately prevents Critical Condition from being anything other than a merely bland misfire of a comedy.