As one of the world's biggest "Patch Adams" fans (partially due to how easily I could once tease my brother Pat simply by calling him "Patch"), I'm ashamed to admit I forgot Phillip Seymour Hoffman was in it as I silently recalled, like so many others, his career accolades in the wake of his sudden death (if only actors had cards like baseball does). So, apparently, did the New York Times, which listed 30 movies and plays Hoffman had appeared in, but not "Patch Adams." Brooklyn Magazine didn't forget, though it failed to remember its good parts (Hoffman being one of them) and labeled it one of the Oscar winner's "crappy" movies, in the same group as "Along Came Polly" and "Red Dragon."

Looking back at Hoffman's IMDB list (longer than you may think), Hoffman, admittedly, had a few less-than-stellar works, but he never once made a bad movie, which isn't an easy feat. He was a not-so classic scene stealer, an actor capable of adding at least a half-star/redeeming quality to a movie without the audience really knowing why. That's why I forgot he was in "Patch Adams," even if I never turn it down when it runs on cable television. In his lesser roles (like "Patch Adams"), he was a more subtle version of Steve Buschemi, whose more obviously unique but equally as skilled style always adds to a movie's lasting impression.

In "Patch Adams," Hoffman played Mitch, Robin Williams' privileged and reluctant med school roommate. Mitch symbolized exactly what Williams opposed: doctors so consumed by the nuances of medicine they forget about the human element. Hoffman wasn't amazing in this role nor could he have been, given the extent of the character's impact. He simply did what was called for, and he made it convincing. Probably, it was an easy job for him. At any rate, he sold it, and it not only added credibility to the film, but added credibility to Robin Williams' Patch, for eventually he converts Mitch to his way of thinking. That transformation isn't essential, but it's important. A movie's hero needs capable villains. Hoffman obliged.

Of course, Robin Williams was still the best part of "Patch Adams," but Hoffman was a key role player. The work he did falls under a category not recognized by the Academy or most award shows, but one in which Hoffman frequently performed well (and one that should probably be named after Samuel L. Jackson): taking small roles in any quality of movie, doing them well, and making every movie you're in watchable. If every actor accepted only the best roles with the most screen time, the state of the movie industry would be lacking (though some critics might argue the opposite).

Eventually, Hoffman would possess the unique ability to thrive as a more significant supporting actor and leading man. In his early days, like 1998's "Patch Adams," we were lucky to witness his impact in smaller parts.