Calculating rhythm; "John Q." and "Crossroads."(two films)

Melodrama has often served as a vehicle for social protest in American movies, but "John Q.," which attacks the inequality of health care in this country, falls below even minimal standards of dramatic decency. "John Q." is a trashy, opportunistic piece of pop demagoguery. It justifies hostage-taking, and lays out its characters in opposing stereotypes for easy audience identification. It hectors us, shames us, and plucks our heartstrings with a ham fist (if you think that's physically impossible, wait until you see the end of the movie, which could reduce Slobodan Milosevic to tears). And yet, as awful as "John Q." is, the picture does touch a nerve. The audience is ...