The trailers convince us it's a comedy and the director attached always does a great drama. Is this a case of mistaken identity or another strange Richard Gere project.

"Dr T & the Women" chronicles the life of fictional gynecologist Sully Travis (Richard Gere) who is juggling the many women scattered through out his complicated life. Some of these women include Sully's wife, Kate (Farrah Fawcett) who suffers from dementia and his two daughters, Dee Dee (Kate Hudson) and Connie (Tara Reid) who are in the middle of planning Dee Dee's wedding with their aunt Peggy (Laura Dern) who has three girls of her own. These relationships are coupled with the doctor's chief nurse Carolyn (Shelly Long) and the doctor's new mistress Bree (Helen Hunt).

"Dr T" is directed by critically acclaimed director Robert Altman who directed the ensemble dramas "The Player", "Short Cuts" and "MASH". Altman brings together a director's dream cast as he tries to uncover the actual relationships Dr T is having. I loved how the cast could play off each other and never really misses a beat.

As I sat back and watched this film unfold I became really confused on who was related to whom and how they were going to effect Gere's life. I liked Farrah Fawcett as the slowly going insane wife as she retreats into her inner child. She was by far the most convincing of the women. But what I found maddening was the stupid diagnosis of her condition. If there is a disease by this name I am sorry for these remarks but blaming Gere's character that he loved a woman too much is ludicrous.

The nudity and sexuality in this film is really never conveyed as an element except that the some stars show skin it seems to have no real purpose. The whole first date between Gere and Hunt left me quite hollow as Hunt seemed to push and command Gere around as she occupied her domain. Gere would often flatter her by telling she is like no other woman he has ever met. Could this because she is an ice princess? Or maybe that he has never been dominated?

In a lot of Altman films we can follow the storylines developed by the characters as they uncover the film's encompassing plot. In this film we never really understand where this film is going until the end. I hated this aspect because we only really saw the revelation of three of the film's characters. What happened to Fawcett's Kate? Was Connie (Reid) really ok? And what will happen with Peggy's drinking problem? The whole film is setup like a soap opera pilot that will soon be revealed in future episodes except there aren't any. Because of this un-conclusion to the film I ask myself, were there really any endings? Aside from an all-star cast and some intricate performances my diagnosis on this film is that it left me with more questions than it answered.

On a side note prepare to be shocked in the last 3 minutes because it is definitely a Hollywood first.

(2 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.