Mike Farrell is most persuasive when kindness needs no explaining. We rate his quiet contribution to MASH highly; Patch Adams*, which he produced, shows how easily the same humane impulse can become a lecture.
Fi1m perspective
B. J. Hunnicutt offers quiet company in MASH* (1972), and Mike Farrell makes that worth having. Alongside Alan Alda, he helps a war comedy give its people time to become more complicated than their first joke. We warmed to him because the tenderness comes through his dealings with the others, without a speech telling us to care. That matters in a series whose occasional lectures can interrupt its comedy. It also gives us a useful way into Farrell's producing work, where good intentions have sometimes proved less persuasive.
Farrell joined MASH in 1975 and stayed for its final eight seasons, writing eight episodes and directing five. Producer and director Gene Reynolds encouraged actors to contribute to scripts, while Alda influenced Farrell's own writing and directing. This was a setting in which an actor could help shape more than his performance. Farrell moved further into production, forming Farrell/Minoff Productions with Marvin Minoff in 1985. Their work included television films and the features Dominick and Eugene (1988) and Patch Adams* (1998).
Patch Adams is a disappointment, though it has its pleasures. Robin Williams is likeable and often funny as the clown who wants to be a doctor, but director Tom Shadyac trusts too little to that appeal. He keeps explaining why we should care, until scenes that might have amused us become lectures. Farrell worked with the real Patch Adams on the project, but that connection cannot rescue what reaches the screen. There is enough warmth to see the attraction of the material, and too much insistence to recommend the result.
Farrell's move behind the scenes is worth considering without pretending that a producer controls every choice. The collaboration with Minoff shows a sustained interest in character-led material, but choosing a sympathetic subject is only the beginning. Our reservation is about how often Patch Adams tells us what to feel. For the quieter, more rewarding version of Farrell's work, start with Hunnicutt.
Biography
Mike Farrell is an American actor best known for playing Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series MASH* (1975–1983). He also wrote five episodes and directed four during his time on the show.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1939, Farrell began his career with small film roles and television appearances, including a regular part on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He later starred in the series Providence (1999–2002) and served as a producer on the film Patch Adams (1998).
Farrell has made guest appearances in series including Desperate Housewives, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Supernatural. He is also known for his work as an activist.
