HOLMES vs. HOUSE MD

House MD is based on Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Dyle. Sherlock Holmes the movie by Guy Ritchie is based on Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Dyle. Hence, an extension of this logic is that S.H.T.M. ("Sherlock Holmes The Movie") should stand to be compared to H.M.D ("House M.D."), or so it seems.

But first, before the review begins, let me prove conclusively that H.M.D. is based on Holmes.

1. House is another word for homes, which sounds almost the same as Holmes.

2. Dr. Wilson, sidekick to Dr.House, has a name which is similar to Dr.Watson, sidekick to Sherlock Holmes.

3. The dynamics of the relationship between House/Wilson and Holmes/Watson is indiscernible.

4. In an episode of H.M.D. House played a prank on his fellows by sending himself a Christmas gift of an antique medical book by Dr. Joshua Bell. Wilson played along by claiming that the book was a gift by a mysterious patient called Irene Adler. No prizes for matching Irene Adler to the character played by Rachel McAdams in S.H.T.M. More interestingly, Dr. Joshua Bell is a real life doctor whose exploits form the foundation for Sir Arthur to craft his fictional detective, Holmes.

5. Holmes plays the violin while House plays the piano and guitar.

6. Holmes takes cocaine while House is addicted to Vicodin (a painkiller)

7. Holmes stays in 221B Baker Street while House stays in an apartment marked 221B.

(further prove can be found in the following website http://www.housemd-guide.com/holmesian.php)

Now, on to the how the movie fared, in my humble opinion. Should the main selling point of the movie be about the relationship between Holmes & Watson, it can clearly be seen that if fails in comparison to the one between House & Wilson. Granted, the writers of H.M.D. had 6 seasons to develop their individual characters and the relationship, but Guy should have done better. The chemistry between R.D.J. and Jude Law seems forced and farcical. At certain points in the movie, I found myself wishing that they would have just cast Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard in the movie.

If action is what Guy was reaching for, he packed more punch in his other movies such as Snatch and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (which by the way, benefited from quick editing. S.H.T.M's quick cut scenes just seemed...fractured). For those who thought that R.D.J's shirtless fight in the movie is cool should watch the Brad Pitt gypsy fight scene in Snatch. Now, that's cool.

Overall, I felt that the S.H.T.M story fell flat, the acting was mediocre and the action just plain *yawn* boring. It was disappointing, considering how I much I liked Guy Ritchie's previous movies and R.D.J's role in Tropic Thunder.

The Rotten Tomatoes gave S.H.T.M a 50% rating on its tomato meter. I think that is being a little to kind. Give this a miss, don't go even for mindless fun, as this movie was no fun at all.