John Q. (DVD)

~ ~ Imagine yourself in the situation. Your young child is diagnosed with a fatal heart condition. (or any other type of fatal condition you care to think of) You’re only working part-time because of the economic climate, your car has just been repossessed, and it’s going to be a close call whether or not you can meet the next month’s rent/mortgage. You then discover that your company has downgraded your medical insurance, (without your knowledge) and that the insurance will only pay the first $20K of the required $250K for the life saving operation (heart transplant) that your child needs in order to survive. That’s what I call a ...  Read the complete review

John Q isn't really that well know of a film. Often when discussing films with friends and I ask if they have heard of it the answer is no. I saw it on an off chance at the cinema. I took my Gran and we decided to watch it simply because Denzel Washington was in it. I hadn't heard of it before so I didn't know what it was about or what to expect. Both of us loved it and thought it was very moving. John Quincy Archibald (Denzel Washington) is a family orientated man who loves his family. However, they are in financial difficulty. When we first see him his bank is repossessing his car. He and his wife Denise (Kimberley Elise) argue about money issues but only ...  Read the complete review

John Q. Archibald (Denzel Washington) is a blue collar factory worker, who, although is going through a hard time, still has the love of his wife Denise (Kimberly Elise) and their young son Mikey (Daniel E. Smith). When the factory cuts John's hours down by half, his financial problems start to mount up and he is forced to look for extra work before he loses everything. When Mikey collapses whilst playing baseball, they discover that he has a serious heart disorder, and unless he receives a $250,000 heart transplant, he is sure to die. When John and Denise discover that their medical insurance won't cover the cost of the transplant, they plead to the hospitals ...  Read the complete review

For a movie this contrived, this poorly plotted and this embarrassingly scripted it is obvious that it must have struck some kind of chord with those otherwise more discerning names involved. Director Nick Cassavetes has a daughter awaiting transplant of course so his motivation is obvious, but for the likes of Denzyl Washington, Robert Duval, Ray Liotta and James Woods amongst others to become involved it must surely have only been because they agreed with the movie's laudable intentions because in all other respects it is incredibly poor. Of course, this movie DOES have all the best intentions. It's a sad fact that one of the richest countries in the ...  Read the complete review

Here in the UK, we have the NHS. It means that, for a lot of things, we are automatically covered, medically speaking. Sure, it relies on a few other things such as National Insurance, but I don't profess to be an expert. Far from it. John Q is a 2002 film that focuses on the disadvantages of not being medically covered for something, over in the States, as Denzel Washington's John Q Archibald fights with every fibre of his being to save his son's life against all odds. Director Nick Cassavetes gives us a powerful film that focuses on health care, corruption, pen-pushers and the power of love. When Mike Archibald (Daniel E Smith) collapses from near heart ...  Read the complete review