Extraordinary Measures - B-

On DVD and Blu-ray
106 minutes, Rated PG

John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) has 2 children with Pompe disease, a genetic disorder which results in enlargement of multiple organs (including the heart and liver) due to the absence of an enzyme that would normally breakdown glycogen, a sugar that gets deposited everywhere in the body. This usually leads to death by the age of 9. Rather than accept his children's fate, he and his wife (Keri Russell) decide to reach out to a research doctor (Harrison Ford) who's on the verge of cure. Crowley uses his business sense to get funding for the research and the film shows the difficulties to get a new drug to the market . . .

Fraser and Russell are fine as the suffering parents, never going too far in the sentimental direction. Ford is clearly having fun playing the irascible, reclusive doctor - definitely against his typical role. Mad Men's Jared Harris is excellent as a corporate lackey whose objectivity drives Crowley nuts. The film is tough to watch but if you have kids, you'll certainly place yourself in the center of it, wondering how you'd react and respond to not only the terrible disease, but also all the hurdles thrown at you by the uncaring business world (the "bean-counters" as they're called at one point).

There is probably a minuscule target audience for this one, of which I am definitely part. Medical research and the pharmaceutical business are accurately and interestingly portrayed. And the payoff is emotionally satisfying albeit predictable. The film could have used some more humor but it's tough to make such wrenching material watchable and director Tom Vaughan (What Happens in Vegas!) makes it work. The film received a shellacking by the critics who must have prejudged by its January release. While its familiar and safe, its heart is in the right place and the story deserves to be seen by the widest possible audience. B-