NEW YORK (U-WIRE) — There are a few characters and plotlines in “John Q,” a film directed with little subtlety by Nick Cassevetes, but these elements are just padding around the message that the health care system neglects the average Joe or John Q. (Do you get it? John Q. Public — he’s Everyman!)
John (Denzel Washington) is a church-going, tastefully God-fearing sports fan and factory worker in dire financial straits. His situation is worsened when his son, Mikey (Daniel E. Smith), collapses on the baseball field from a previously undiagnosed fatal heart condition. Faced with watching his son die because he can’t afford the heart transplant he needs, John takes the emergency room hostage to get his son on a donor list. Swelling music ensues, and you’ll never guess who triumphs and over what.
The only element of “John Q” that flirts with subtext is the “race card,” which Cassevetes plays with ignorant gusto, providing a nice cross-section of stereotypes. The universe of “John Q” is simply drawn with obnoxious white people being the only ones to benefit from the current health care system. After watching John struggle to raise money for the down payment on his son’s heart transplant (selling everything he owns, receiving a collection from his church, etc.), we are briefly introduced to a Caucasian husband and wife proudly displaying their many tucks and silicone embellishments. The husband has just received a new heart and his top concern, which he addresses to Dr. Turner (James Woods), is getting back to playing tennis. Turner, a member of the same social sphere as the plastic, age-defying couple, invites them to his house for dinner in front of John, who is at the hospital to protest the early dismissal of his son.
When John’s heart wrenching protests fail to inspire anything but Turner’s wincing, he pulls a gun and puts the ER on lock down. For the next hour we spend time with an array of daringly original characters: Lt. Grimes (Robert Duvall), the hostage negotiator who sympathizes with the gunman, Police Chief Monroe (Ray Liotta), who is concerned about an upcoming election, and a smart-talking hostage named Lester (Eddie Griffin).
Lester is the wise fool who through his humorous jive speaks truths the other hostages and John cannot quite realize. A perfectly lazy stereotype, Lester enjoys commenting on the booty of a fine female hostage and requests a “bucket uh chicken” if he will be detained for the night. However, Lester is the constant voice of reason, identifying the girlfriend-beating Mitch (Shawn Hatosy) as a member of the “slappa-hoe tribe” and later attempting to talk John out of sacrificing himself for his son.
As the pressure inside the ER mounts, little Mikey clings to life while his mother, Denise (Kimberly Elise) helplessly watches. In a nearby room, another sick child dies and his mother throws herself hysterically over the body making Mikey’s situation seem graver by reminding us that “death is sad.”
John, in his readiness to sacrifice everything for his son, touches Turner and Rebecca Payne (Anne Heche), the villainous pixie hospital administrator who was originally responsible for keeping Mikey off the donor list. However, in his willingness to take up arms to demand that the system work for him, John provides a disturbing example of what to do when life is unfair. The other patients on the donor list who may be even younger and cuter than Mikey are never discussed. Perhaps the audience would be confused by this discussion, since it may lead some of us to believe that the health care system is A-OK.
Cassevetes wraps up with a montage of familiar faces such as Larry King and Jesse Jackson, each confirming that the health care system is indeed flawed. Bill Maher, as the final voice of reason, explains that the blame should be put on the American public: “The enemy,” he says, “is us, because we don’t want our taxes raised.” Sadly, Cassevetes assumes we don’t want our consciousness raised — that we don’t want more from our movies than sap that is merely meant to trigger tears. In all the sappy goo of “John Q,” all that we are left with is a deficit of two hours that could have gone to writing our congressmen and demanding a better and more equitable health care system.
— The Columbia Daily Spectator’s Web site can be found at www.columbiaspectator.com.