I'll start by mentioning that after watching the excellent "True Detective" series, and hearing of McConaughey's speech at the Oscars - the wife said we should watch this movie. How stupid of me - not to check what this movie is about. 5 minutes into it though, I thought I did understand what the movie was about. Gays and AIDS. So - lesson learned, next time, read a synopsis before clicking on the rent button on my Roku.
Realizing what I was watching, I came to a quick and easy conclusion, the probable reason this movie was nominated and won was because it's about AIDS and gays. Now, I do admit that McConaughey gives a great performance and literally starved himself for the role. However, I was pondering, is it better or different than Tom Hanks at Philadelphia? Besides, I was thinking, I already watched that AIDS+Gays movie, why am I being subjected to a Texas version of it?
Finally, I watched the movie to the end, and I realized that while AIDS and gays are prominent, it's really not what the movie is about. This movie is about how the federal government sucks. Sure, they want to pin this on Reagen (not by name, only by posters on people's walls) - but the unavoidable conclusion is that this movie is about how wrongheaded the federal government actions can be, and how it leads to suffering, bad treatment, and death. In essence, it's a prelude into why government should minimally meddle with medical care and choices, or put it differently: Why OBAMACARE sucks ass.
I'm sure the folks at Hollywood didn't realize that this movie is a backhand slap to their beloved ObamaCare agenda - but it is. And once a person realizes that conclusion, it makes watching the movie somewhat less uncomfortable. This is a libertarian movie, and should be celebrated for that.
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