A factory worker father takes over a hospital to force them to place his child on the heart transplant list when he learns that because he has inadequate insurance, his son is being sent home to die.

Beneath the surface of a disease of the week story beats the heart of a health documentary, which shows how ugly life can become if you are among the 50 MILLION AMERICANS who do not have health insurance. With some employers changing coverage with fine print that only a medical lawyer would understand, it's not much of a stretch to see how your insurance, if you have it, might be just a mirage for a catastrophic illness or accident.

John Q and Denise Archibald (Denzel Washington & Kimberly Elise) are the working class parents of an energetic young boy named Mike (Daniel E. Smith). They are having more than a little trouble making ends meet as John is only working 20 hours a week at his factory job and Denise is a new cashier at a grocery store. Mike collapses on the baseball field and at the hospital Dr. Turner (James Woods) tells them that the boy needs a heart transplant. John has health insurance but learns this operation is not covered. The Administrative Supervisor at the hospital (Anne Heche) will not place the child on the donor transplant list unless $75,000 in cash, part of $250,000 needed for the operation, is paid in the next few weeks. The Archibald's start holding fund-raisers and selling assets to raise the money. It's the classic case of too little too late and the day finally arrives when Mike is being discharged to go home so that he can be "happy."

When John runs out of options to save his son, he takes hostages in the hospital with the demand that he will release them only when his son is placed on the donor list. With such a serious breach of the law, one wonders how there could be a happy ending to the situation. The movie takes a hard look at a serious issue while using much of the supporting cast of recognizable faces to inject humor and perspective that prevents this from being a downer.

You will enjoy remarkable performances by each member of the Archibald family. Denzel Washington has a scene in which he even surpasses himself in "The Hurricane" and "Training Day"- that takes some doing. Kimberly Elise is the beautiful, supportive wife that I will give consideration to for best supporting actress this time next year.

As I walked out of the theater fully understanding that I had been to a "message" movie and not necessarily liking it, I was suddenly humbled by how grateful I am that I'm not one of the 50,000,000 Americans who does not have health insurance. The realization of that let me know that John Q is as serious a film as "Erin Brokovich."

Denzel is back to the hero after his bad guy turn in "Training Day." When you love your family and are backed into a corner and your spouse, who has faith in you, cries out "DO SOMETHING!"- How far will you go?

Denzel Washington: "Training Day"	Kimberly Elise: "Bait"
James Wood: "Riding in Cars with Boys"	Ray Liotta: "Hannibal"
Robert Duvall: "The 6th Day"	Nick Cassavetes: "Panic"