Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Starring:
Matthew McConaughey
Jennifer Garner
Jared Leto
Steve Zahn
Dallas Roberts
Michael O’Neill
Denis O’Hare
Griffin Dunne
John Tabler
Jane McNeill
James DuMont
Running time: 116 minutes
Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
Matthew McConaughey stars as AIDS patient Ron Woodroof, who smuggled unapproved pharmaceutical drugs into Texas when he found them effective at improving his symptoms, distributing them to fellow sufferers by establishing the eponymous “Dallas Buyers Club” whilst facing opposition from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
My Opinion:
Matthew McConaughey… I watched & reviewed Mud recently & commented that I’ve never really been a fan of his (other than in Dazed & Confused – he’s hilariously pervy in that). I didn’t LOVE him in Mud but did like that it was a different sort of role to what I’ve seen him do before. Then I saw him in The Wolf Of Wall Street and thought he was great (although we’ve kind of seen him play that smarmy sort of guy before). Well, McConaughey is finally growing on me after Dallas Buyers Club. I really liked him in it & really enjoyed the movie. And since seeing this movie, I’ve also watched the first episode of True Detective. I don’t love the show quite yet (sorry, Eric!) but it seems to have potential & McConaughey is clearly the one to watch. The main reason I’ll be watching a few more episodes will be to see how they develop his character.
As for this movie, I’ve not looked into how accurate it is compared to the true story but it’s the type of story that’s perfect for a Hollywood adaptation so I can see why it was done. It was fascinating to watch the story unfold. It does go a bit “Hollywood” at times but, hey, what doesn’t? It’s a gritty and a serious subject matter but has great characters & relationships and you can’t help but want a happy Hollywood ending even though you know that’s not going to be the case here. The movie doesn’t focus TOO heavily on all the issues and failures of the FDA (which was fine by me). I think it strikes a good balance between telling us the story & focusing on developing the characters, which is usually just as important (if not more important to me) than a film’s story. McConaughey & Leto are both very good and I think deserving of their Oscar nominations (particularly McConaughey) although wins probably aren’t likely against others nominated. Seriously, though – How many times do I have to type McConaughey before my iPhone recognizes it?! I hope it’s by the time I review Bernie.
Summary:
Keeping this short as I’ve gotten lazy fallen very behind on writing my own reviews since all the great IMDB guest reviews that have been pouring in. Dallas Buyers Club has a very interesting story with well developed characters and some Oscar worthy acting. You can’t really ask for much more. It’s a solid movie and I’m glad I saw it. It’s also yet another best picture Oscar nominee that’s better than American Hustle. (I still have five more of those to watch before the Oscars – I better hurry!)
My Rating: 8/10
Cinema Parrot Disco 
Definitely better than American Hustle, this. And I’m glad you’re participating in McConaughessaince now. 🙂
I’m glad we agree! : ) Yeah… I might give him a chance now…
I don’t usually approve of compound words but McConaughessaince is an exception!
Lol. It IS a cool word! : )
Great review.
Thanks! : )
Yep, I liked it more than American Hustle (even though I gave them the same score). I thought the story was a little predictable and cliched but the performances were top class. I loved Jared Leto in this. Top review 🙂
Thanks. : ) Yeah – it was pretty predictable and I wondered how much was true & how much it was Hollywoodified (Is that a word? Is now!). : ) But, yeah – it was the performances that made the film. They both did a great job!
I really liked this, was quite gentle and there weren’t any real surprises but i enjoyed the story
Ditto! : ) Solid story. Great performances. Really enjoyed it. See? We agree sometimes! ; )
Great review! I recently saw this with my wife and it was moving and emotional. My wife had lost a close family member to aids years back and the performances and story hit close to home for her.
I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The leads were incredible. MM is also starting to grow on me. He is incredible in True Detective. Nice job! 🙂
Thanks. : ) I can imagine this would be quite a difficult watch in that case. Especially as the performances were so great and they really felt like “real” people (and of course McConaughey’s character was – think I read Leto was a composite character). Yeah – I’ll start giving MM more of a chance! : )
Leto and McConaughey are amazing here, and the main reasons to see this flick. Good review.
Thanks! Totally agree this movie is worth it just to watch those two. : )
Hah, I just (10 minutes ago) wrote my review of this, even used the same pic of Leto in it. I absolutely loved Jared Leto’s character, he was fantastic. McConaughey is very good too. And both of them have good chances to win Oscars. I really liked DBC but I’ve liked all of the best picture nominees this season (except Captain Phillips that I gave 7/10). I still need to see American Hustle. Though I will probably like it because of the cast and director.
Btw, it was funny to think that at the same time yesterday when I saw DCB, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was on telly, both have McConaughey and Garner and they are so far apart from each other. Though, I like both, this one more, of course.
I’ve not seen Captain Phillips yet – hoping to watch it before the Oscars. Yeah – Leto is great in this. : ) I’d be happy with either of them getting an Oscar. Funny – I’d forgotten MM & Garner were in another movie together! Don’t think I ever saw that… I’ll check out your review in a bit! : )
“The main reason I’ll be watching a few more episodes will be to see how they develop his character.” AND BECAUSE YOU PROMISED ME YOU WOULD.
#goodkidsdontgobackonpromises
Lol! I think I promised I’d check it out. I’ve checked it out now… ; )
Hi! What are you doi – wait WHAT???!!!
HIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
“Seriously, though – How many times do I have to type McConaughey before my iPhone recognizes it?!” – You have that problem too then? LOL.
Great review Disco Girl. It is a bit Hollywoody but is till really enjoyed it. The performances were top notch and I always love stories about the small man against the big system.
Me too! Stick it to the MAN! Down with the big system! I really enjoyed this, Hollywoody or not. (Lol…Woody…). And loved the performances. They really made the movie. : )
I know the feeling; it’s hard to keep up isn’t it?!
Extremely hard to keep up! It took me almost a week to reply to this comment! Lol : )
Great review! I will watch this soon, it sounds as though it is a very good one. Most things were better than American Hustle!
Thanks! I really recommend this one for the performances. : ) Why is American Hustle getting so much attention???
Oki I watched this yesterday and MM was really not the best actor they could have chosen. While the movie was good and his performance strong, there were better.
And on American Hustle? No idea, but Bale gave one hell of a performance there!
Hehe. Well, I’m happy he got the Oscar anyway. Although I wanted Leo. : ( Glad American Hustle didn’t win everything like I feared!
Yeah good for him haha. I just wanted Leo to get something, even if he is okay with not getting anything. Yeah sheesh, that movie was not THAT impressive!
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