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Maybe it should have gone straight-to-CBS

Kim Hollis: Extraordinary Measures, a CBS Films release starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser, earned only $6 million. What went wrong here?

Tony Kollath: Apparently, not enough people ALREADY WORKED AROUND THE CLOCK!

Josh Spiegel: I would argue that too many people ALREADY worked around the clock...otherwise, they'd have seen this would-be TV-movie.

Tom Macy: I don't think my analysis is going to say anything that isn't completely obvious. Clearly, this thing was a trainwreck from the first screech of the engine. Instead, I'll reminisce about the cab ride i took this past Saturday. The little TV screen in the back had Jeffrey Lyons reviewing this film. In response to Brendan Fraser's performance, he said, "Fraser's best acting days may be ahead of him." I wonder if he mixed the screeners up and watched The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor instead. For his sake, I hope so.

Shalimar Sahota: Have you seen the posters for this film? They're abysmal. Just whacking shots of your two lead starts, standing there, explains little about the film. Also the story is pretty much "made-for-tv" territory.





Calvin Trager: I contend this movie fell victim to a similar fate as Snakes On a Plane. It created a lot of buzz, but for reasons unrelated to anything that would cause people to actually see the movie. Separately, I think the trailer strongly implies that there's nothing original or interesting going on and gave many the vague impression that they'd already seen it before.

Reagen Sulewski: There's got to be a lot of people confused as to why they never said what time this movie was premiering on CBS. But remaking Lorenzo's Oil, but without the compelling parts, really shouldn't surprise people if it doesn't grab people's attention.

Max Braden: Patch Adams without the fun... There's "with Harrison Ford" and then far too many withouts. I may have paid more attention had I been introduced to whoever was dying, and from what.

Michael Lynderey: The story is heart-wrenching and the actors are well-chosen, but the reality is that reviews just weren't kind to this one, the audience wasn't there, and Ford and Fraser haven't carried a film on their star power alone in a while. It's a shame also to see Keri Russell in another box office disappointment, but barring a surprisingly strong critical and audience reception, this was always going to be one of the month's also-rans, rather than another Blind Side.

George Rose: Wow, that question has a long asnwer. Asking, "What went right?" would be much easier. Then I could simply say, "NOTHING." This type of story rarely does well with the mainstream because nobody wants to sit around watching sick kids, unless Denzel Washington is trying to save them by holding up a hospital. Really, it's just too depressing and my mind is still recovering from the trauma that came from seeing Precious. The cast is absolute crap, too. I understand that actors don't want to be typecast and try out different genres, but someone needs to put a cap on it. Like, if I were to have a sit down chat with Julia Roberts, I might say, "You're really great in romance, and I'll even let you do drama, but I'm not sure starring in a sci-fi movie like Star Wars: Episode VII would be a smart career movie." Just because she's famous enough to get any part she wants doesn't mean she should take it. Isn't that what an agent or manager is for? Where are Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser's agents? Someone should have said, "Look, we know you think you need to explore different types of films after Indiana Jones 4 and Mummy 3, but this isn't it. Try a thriller first, then maybe we can talk about sappy dying children." And CBS Films thought this was the film that would help break them out as a distributor? As far as I'm concerned, $6 million is more than this deserved and CBS should be thrilled with the result.

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