MOVIE SCENE
'John Q.' is all heart, but no brain

By Forrest Hartman
Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal

JOHN Q. (Rated PG-13 for profanity) One Star (Poor) Painfully bad drama about a father (Denzel Washington) who holds a hospital emergency room hostage when his insurance company refuses a heart transplant for his son. The film could have been a potent indictment of the U.S. medical system, but instead we get a ridiculously plotted mess that refuses to take chances. Washington is typically solid, but there's no improving on the horrible script. Also starring Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta, Anne Heche, and James Woods. Directed by Nick Cassavetes. New Line, 118 mins.

You'll sniffle because Denzel Washington and Robert Duvall are misused, fight tears because the dialogue is labored, and blubber because the entire project, which could have been a stirring indictment of the U.S. medical system — is instead a melodramatic mess.

Clearly, "Q." is meant as a tearjerker, but I suspect director Nick Cassavetes was aiming for tears of the more sincere variety. The film introduces John Q. Archibald (Washington), a Chicago father who gets backed into a corner when his insurance company refuses to pay for the heart-transplant surgery his son desperately needs.

When it becomes clear his son is about to die, John takes everyone inside the hospital emergency room hostage. He demands that his son be placed on the heart donor list and our trip through hell begins.

As John tries to reason his way out of a no-win situation, we're force-fed monologues about America's healthcare troubles. "John Q." might be an example of what happens when you're too close to your material — Cassavetes has a daughter with congenital heart disease — or it might be an example of a director clueless to the subtleties of storytelling. Whatever the reason, we are hammered with dialogue that sounds like it came straight from the opinion page.

We're also faced with a ridiculous plot that takes every twist in the Hollywood book and refuses to make even a single difficult choice. Anyone who's had a dispute with a health insurance company will likely applaud portions of the message "John Q." presents, but those same people probably understand that many disputes are never ended appropriately.

Cassavetes and screenwriter James Kearns can't see beyond the Hollywood box, however, so they deliver a picture about as brave as the Cowardly Lion. Unwilling to face the prospect of an unhappy ending, they dilute their message until it disappears.

Cassavetes should also be taken to task for vastly oversimplifying a complex situation. In one scene, a physician derides HMOs for paying doctors not to catch patient illnesses. While HMOs — and America's medical system in general — are far from flawless, such a broad-based assault is akin to calling all lawyers crooks.

Unfortunately, for Cassavetes and company I have some experience in the area. Not only am I an HMO subscriber, but I have a son with a heart defect. In my case, the condition was diagnosed rapidly and the HMO willingly paid for a second opinion.

On top of the movie's unforgivable plotting problems, we also get a host of cookie-cutter characters stolen from thousands of other films. James Woods plays an arrogant, but talented heart surgeon, Anne Heche plays a cash-obsessed hospital manager, Duvall plays an aging hostage negotiator, and Ray Liotta plays a smarmy chief of police. No further description is necessary because the characters have no depth.

The film's sole strength is Washington, but there's no way he could have overcome this material. It's credit enough that he somehow builds sentiment for John, giving us at least some stake in the movie.

Ironically, that leaves "John Q" with a heart, but no brain.

Rated PG-13, with profanity, surgical procedures.