Movie Review: Dallas Buyers Club ***1/2

Matthew McConaughey will surely get an Oscar nomination for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. The Academy loves actors who drastically alter their physical appearance, and MM is excruciating to look at in this film so...perfect! Oscar nod assured.
He's also very good in the role. Is he great? Not to me, but I'm not a big fan, though in my opinion it's one of his better roles. He melted (literally) into the part.
It's an engrossing story about real-life Ron Woodroof, an electrician/cowboy/gigolo, who's diagnosed with AIDS and fights to bring the right drugs to his fellow-sufferers, skirting right around the FDA. It's of the Rocky, Norma Rae, Rudy genre and it's hard not to root for the little guy, especially the one who fights the system and wins.
It's a great story, a pretty good film and a really good performance by McConaughey.
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune thinks Jared Leto will also get an Oscar nomination for his role as Woodroof's transvestite business partner but I thought his performance was uneven. However...he lost 30 lbs. for the role, so who knows?
I just hope they both put on some weight before the Academy Awards.
Three and a half stars for Dallas Buyers Club.