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| John Q |
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  (5/10)
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Runtime: 115 |
| Public Rating: 5.58 (40 votes) |
Director: Nick Cassavetes |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Thriller/ Drama |
Year: 2002 |
| Writer(s): James Kearns |
| Reviewed by: Movieman |
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Denzel Washington is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and arguably the most talented of the bunch. While he has so much talent that can carry any film despite some script flaws, he cannot carry an entire film without some help. You'd think with the supporting cast he has in John Q that this would be a homerun, right? Not even close.
The story involves Denzel Washington as John Q. Archibald, the father of a young boy, Mike, who collapses on the baseball field in a little league game. He learns from the vascular surgeon (Woods) that Mike will need a heart transplant. At the same meeting, John finds out from Rebecca Paye (Heche), the hospital administrator, that his medical insurance does not cover this type of surgery and that the Archibald family must find the money just to make the donor list. The family does all they can to raise the money, everything from church donations to selling off their last vehicle (the other one was repossesed) but they did not get nearly enough. When the hospital was about to release Mike, John takes matters into his own hands and takes the people inside the e.r. hostage.
Denzel Washington does a great job as the father going all the way to save his son, and he certainly proved his worth after film. Washington, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for his role in Training Day, has been brilliant in just about every movie I have seen him in. He has that "every-man" look like he's one of us just trying to make it through the day. But in this role, he just does not have enough support to make this a worth-while film.
And on that note, I will dive into the supporting roles of John Q. This film had some of the best supporting talent any director, producer, screen-writers or whatever, could possible want. First up to the plate is Robert Duvall. Duvall is a great talent who has given us Oscar caliber perfor-mances in the past (e.g. The Apostle). Next is James Woods, another great actor, and a fascinating one at that. He has been seen in everything from a John Carpenter vampire flick (Vampires) to playing the strange and obscure father in The Virgin Suicides. Lastly is Ray Liotta, who has never been able to come out of the shadows of being a supporting character in a major role.
All of these actors are perfectly capable of bringing the audience good, memorable performances as long as they have characters to go with it. Unfortunately, they do not. Duvall's detective role is flat and you learn nothing by the end of the film about him or just the mere ability to be glad at the end of the film to root for him and his accomplishments throughout. Liotta as the police chief doesn't fulfill his requirement to be the catalyst not only to John but also to the detective. And finally, while James Woods performance was the better of the supporting cast, there was still much needed to get you into this picture.
It makes sense why Denzel's character is the most believable of the bunch, though. Director Cassavetes' own daughter (presumably named Sasha) was in the same predictament of needing a heart transplant. I don't know the outcome or whether or not he was in the same financial struggles as the Archibald's but just the core the film would make this a personal movie for anybody.
The screenplay by James Kearns tends not to be believable at times as the characters make their moves just because the script tells them to, not because it is logical. With a little more character development and plot hole treatments, the script might have been half-way decent.
John Q, is a prime example of how important it is to have some character development for your supporting roles and that no matter who gets the title role, the actor or actress will have a hard time in making it work. While I do not recommend this film, it is worth a viewing at the bargain theater or rent it later because it would be sad to see Denzel Washington's performance go completely to waste.
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