John Q (2002)

John Quincy Archibald takes a hospital emergency room hostage when his insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant.

Director:

Nick Cassavetes

Writer:

James Kearns

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, Gabriela Oltean

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriela Oltean	...	Beautiful BMW Driver
Denzel Washington	...	John Quincy Archibald
Kimberly Elise	...	Denise Archibald
Ron Annabelle	...	Tow Truck Driver
Daniel E. Smith	...	Michael 'Mike' Archibald
David Thornton	...	Jimmy Palumbo
Barry G. King	...	Employee Manager
Laura Harring	...	Gina Palumbo (as Laura Elena Harring)
Kevin Connolly	...	Steve Maguire
Larissa Laskin	...	Dr. Ellen Klein
Vanessa Branch	...	Registered Nurse
Stephanie Moore	...	Admitting Nurse
James Finnerty	...	Nurse Reggie
Anne Heche	...	Rebecca Payne
James Woods	...	Dr. Raymond Turner

Storyline

John Quincy Archibald's son Michael collapses while playing baseball as a result of heart failure. John rushes Michael to a hospital emergency room where he is informed that Michael's only hope is a transplant. Unfortunately, John's insurance won't cover his son's transplant. Out of options, John Q. takes the emergency room staff and patients hostage until hospital doctors agree to do the transplant.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | insurance | hostage | heart transplant | health care | 

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Taglines:

Give a father no options and you leave him no choice.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and intense thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

The message "For Sasha" appears just before the end credits. This refers to Sasha Cassavetes, daughter of director Nick Cassavetes.

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Goofs

Denise wouldn't have been allowed to lie next to Mike in his hospital bed, this is against hospital regulations, furthermore she could easily dislodge his IV needle and his respiratory tube.

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Quotes

Jimmy Palumbo: [Interviewed by Tuck Lampley] I've got to be honest this whole thing sucks, it could've all been avoided incredibly easy, none of this had to happen if John could've been a millionaire or if his last name was Rockefeller, sometimes he doesn't understand what we hold sacred in this country isn't values, its "value" that's important, we've got haves and we've got have not we've got white collar, blue collar and then we've got no collar, inside the hospital we've got "luck surgery" and "out of luck...

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Connections

Referenced in All in the Extended Family: Nick Cassavetes Profile (2005)

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Soundtracks

Ave Maria
Written and arranged by Aaron Zigman
Performed by Ana María Martínez (as Ana Maria Martinez)

User Reviews

Long Overdue!

It's no secret that America has a health care crisis where about 50 million people are uninsured in this country. The story about John Q. is about his battle to save his son's life when the hospital and health insurance companies have failed his young son by declining to put his name on the heart transplant list. Two time Oscar Winner Denzel Washington does his best to bring life into this character that any other actor would not be able to do. Kimberly Elise is also admirable in her role as his wife. Anne Heche's performance as Rebecca Payne, the hospital administrator, is quite sickening because she plays the bureaucracy part of the role but she does it well. She can act as well. James Woods plays the rich, blood-sucking doctor who John Q. takes hostage along with other innocent bystanders and hospital staff but John Q. has a heart too. Ray Liotta and Robert Duvall have supporting roles as the police chief and hostage negotiator trying to get John Q. to end the standoff. The actions are understandable since a parent would do anything to save their child's life from known death.

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Filmexport [France] Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Q.

Filming Locations:

Clarington, Durham, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,275,194, 17 February 2002

Gross USA:

$71,756,802

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$102,244,770

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Burg/Koules Productions, Evolution Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1