Everyone’s been there: The trip to the emergency room. And everyone knows the first thing they ask you for, no matter how much you’re bleeding, is an insurance card. For most of us, it’s just a flip of the wallet.
The insurance company pays the bill, and we might end up owing a few bucks-no big deal. But for some it is a big deal. No insurance or little insurance means goodbye, rest well at home. Denzel Washington stars in the new movie John Q., a film about one of these HMO forgotten.
John Q. (Washington) is a hard-working man. He works in a factory, tries to be a good father to his son Mike and a good husband to his wife Denise (Kimberly Elise).
But John Q. also has his share of problems. They keep cutting his hours at the factory. He can’t afford all his bills and can’t find a better job. He’s not poor, but by no means is he rich. John Q. is making it through life the best he can, until tragedy strikes like it so often does in Hollywood.
During a baseball game, Mike collapses on the field. Tests show that Mike needs a new heart, and to make matters worse, John’s insurance won’t cover it. The hospital, under the cold-hearted financial, mind of Rebecca Payne (Anne Heche), refuses to do it for free ,and if John can’t come up with the $275,000, then Mike will be released. The law only requires the hospital to stabilize, not cure.
John does what he can, raises money at church, sells everything and tries every available fund source. But since he’s not poor enough, he’s out of luck. So John takes matters into his own hands and decides it’s free health care for everyone when he takes over the emergency room at gunpoint.
The cast of characters for the ER hostages includes plenty of familiar faces, which will have you whispering to the person next to you, “Haven’t I seen that person before?” The most important hostage is the brilliant and cynical surgeon Dr. Turner, played by who else but the cynical James Woods. Going up against everyman John is hostage- negotiator Robert Duvall, (Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey had the day off) and Police Chief Monroe (Ray Liotta). Who knows who else might show up?
John wants his son’s name on the donor list. If he doesn’t get his wish, then the hostages are goners. The movie turns into a kaleidoscope of action and suspense with enough HMO bashing for a dinner with Hillary Clinton. Only time will tell what happens to a cute little boy and his loving father.
The film tackles many issues, including the clearly obvious one, the problem with insurance companies. Maybe the most important lesson to come from the film is not the one about changing society but the one of how far a father will go to save a son.
Washington has played everyone from Malcolm X to The Hurricane, but he does an outstanding job as a regular old guy. Clearly the man is a versatile actor and one who needs to be honored at the upcoming Academy Awards. His role as John Q. will take a backseat to some of his others, but his talent shines through.
The doctor is the bad guy, the hospital is the bad guy, the insurance company is the bad guy, or is it as the police see, the one holding the gun? We’ll see. Grade: B
