eric stoltz delivers an extraordinary performance a joel garcia and a successful young novelist who wind up paralyzed and in a special hospital for the recently disable after break his neck in a hiking accident . while learn to cope and adjust with the gravity of his new limited physical condition joel befriend slick and fast talk and charm womanizer raymond ( an amazing wesley snipe ) and boorish and surly and racist biker bloss ( a terrific william forsythe ) and who feel threaten by the diverse multi ethnic array of fellow patient he force to share a room with . joel also receive substantial support from his loyal and loving and but marry girlfriend anna ( radiantly play by helen hunt ) . but he still must come to term with be disable on his own . this remarkable movie key triumph be it laudably stubborn refusal to neither sanitize nor sentimentalize the severity of what these men be go through . director neil jimenez ( who also write the thoughtful and insightful script ) and micheal steinberg relate the story with exceptional taste and wit and warmth and specifically address with disarm candor and matter of factness how be handicap irrevocably alters one lifestyle and include and especially your sex life ( this point be most powerfully make in a striking sequence when joel and anna try and fail to make love in a motel room ) . besides the expected poignancy and the film far provide a surprising surplus of wickedly funny raw and earthy humor that highlight by the uproarious sequence with joel and bloss make a secret nocturnal expedition to a strip club . the uniformly superb act qualifies a another significant plus represent stoltz and snipe and forsythe and hunt be all outstanding and with stand out support turn by grace zabriskie a bloss doting and amiable mother and elisabeth pena and william allen young a compassionate hospital nurse . despite the grim subject matter and the film ultimately prove to be a very moving and positive and uplifting cinematic testament to the astonishing strength and durability of the human spirit . a simply wonderful little gem of a drama .