Dallas Buyers Club

It has recently come to my attention that I don’t incorporate enough buzz words or catch phrases in my movie reviews. How else am I going to get Onlyfreshness on the map if they can’t flash something with my site’s name in small print during the middle of a trailer when trying to hype up an obviously terrible movie? I should say things like “This movie blew! Like the girl that blew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club while giving him AIDS!” Or “This movie made people come together like butt cheeks!” Ok, so maybe I need a little work on these but it was my first attempt.

I know that I have written this before but is there anyone hotter in Hollywood right now than Matthew McConaughey? Ever since Ghost of Girlfriend’s Past, it seemed like a light went off in his head and he decided that he needed to actually try again. Here’s what he’s done since then : Lincoln Lawyer, Killer Joe, Mud, Magic Mike, and now he has movies with Scorsese and Chris Nolan coming out. He was one movie away from turning into Cuba Gooding Jr and now he’s sure to be nominated for an Oscar.

In his latest effort Dallas Buyers Club, he plays Ron Woodroof who is your typical Dallas Texan in 1985; he works on an oil rig and rides in the rodeo while banging everything in site (with or without a condom), drinks heavily, does blow, and is a homophobic racist. Quite honestly, not much has changed in Dallas in the past 28 years. The problem is that this lifestyle has finally caught up with him and after an accident on the job site one day, it is discovered that he has HIV and the doctors give him 30 days to live. After initially being in denial, he finally accepts that he is dying and goes on a mission to do anything he can to save his life. After AZT fails to improve his health, he heads down to Mexico and runs into a doctor that utilizes alternative drugs (mainly vitamins) that actually improve his health and his way of life. The FDA hasn’t approved these healthy alternatives due to corporations having the money to fast track their drugs to the market first. While people are dying and not improving at all, Woodroof sees an opportunity to cash in on these alternatives and eventually forms the Dallas Buyers Club where if you pay $40 a month you have access to as many of these drugs as you need.

As you can imagine, he faces opposition from doctors who believe that AZT can work if given the proper run through the trials, the FDA who refuses to allow any alternative treatments to patients, and of course the DEA. Along the way he overcomes his homophobia when he is basically forced into friendship with the transvestite Rayon, in what is a career defining role for 30 Seconds to Mars aka Jared Leto. As he learns more about his disease and the red tape that goes into getting drugs approved, his mission turns from simply saving his life and making money in the process to actually helping those that need it.

If you didn’t grow up in the era when AIDS first hit the scene, not much was known about it, the stereotype was that only gay men got it. People also thought you could catch it from casual contact or even breathing the same air as the person that had it. So seeing the interactions that take place is pretty fascinating. What is also noteworthy is the physical transformation that Mcconaughey undertakes for this role; he lost a ton of weight to play Woodroof. He also steps outside of his typical smiling southern charmer type cast and adds a few layers to his character. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a Texas boy through and through but he’s nothing like David in Dazed and Confused. He’s a shoe in for an Oscar nom. Wait, I’m sorry; MATTHEW McConaughey is a Shoe In for an Oscar Nomination!!! See, I told you I’d get better at it! As is Jared Leto who is a little too comfortable playing a man who is only a couple thousand dollars short from being a transsexual. The sad thing is he looked just like this hipster girl I always hang out with, who I actually think is kind of cute. Um…what’s happening right now? Moving on…

Despite the fact that every sex scene in the movie was a complete turn off because you were aware of what was actually happening during the fluid transfer, I rate this movie as FRESH! And yes, I’m aware that’s an ironic term to use when describing a movie about AIDS but it was! With that said, I am not having sex for 600 days! Goodnight!