I dislike just about everything Dallas except for Neiman Marcus and barbecue.

Number one on my hit list is the football team. The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants are in the same division and there is no love lost between the 2 teams. Don’t get me started on owner, Jerry Jones.

I never gave a darn about who shot JR even though Miss Ellie Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes) was a neighbor in Marina Del Rey.

Additionally, after experiencing decades of life on the road, I found that the Dallas rock ‘n roll groupies were the most conniving.

They come on with that sweet, syrupy southern drawl, rooster hairdo and pliable manner. Then at night, after the concert, they would lure the willing musicians into their web,  get their sexy on and in the light of day claim ownership or later contact me with news of a paternity suit…they offer the honey and then come back for the money.

 Saturday night, I finally stumbled upon something Dallas that I enjoyed…The Dallas Buyers Club.

I can completely understand why Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto are both nominated for Academy Awards. Their performances were stellar and physically demanding. McConaughey lost 50 pounds for the part and Leto, 30 pounds.

McConaughey’s character is based on Ron Woodruff’s real life drama. Leto’s character of Rayon is fictional and yet such an integral part of the film as is  Jennifer Garner’s role of Dr. Eve Saks, a sympathetic ally.

When we first meet Woodruff, he is a heavy drinking, substance abusing heterosexual homophobe….electrician by day and macho bull riding womanizer by night.

He is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and is given 30 days to live. Not taking no for an answer, Woodruff smuggles unapproved pharmaceutical drugs into Texas from Mexico, Japan, Amsterdam, etc. when he found them effective.

He then distributed them to fellow HIV/AIDS victims by establishing the eponymous “Dallas Buyers Club” at a fee of $400 per month while facing heavy opposition from the Food and Drug Administration.

Dallas Buyers Club offers an interesting insight into the machinations of the FDA which I have always suspected are in the hip pocket of the pharmaceutical companies. It seems more lucrative to keep people sick and suffering rather than coming up with new drugs to impede or cure HIV/AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s.

The FDA are traditionally slow to approve international drugs that have been proven highly effective elsewhere as well as less expensive.

The film, a biographical drama based on the real life battle of Ron Woodruff, showcases one man’s fight to survive the dreaded disease as well as finding an alternative drug to the prescribed potentially lethal dosage of AZT.

Along the way, he discovers a true sense of humanity and helps others in their battle to survive HIV/AIDS.

Dallas Buyers Club is nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including, Best Film, Screenplay, Actor and Supporting Actor. It is a heartfelt and intense journey and one well worth taking.