Well Acted But Not Authentic

Rating: 6/10 (24 February 2014)

Having lived through the AIDS crisis, and having volunteered in the mid-80s with groups that were fighting AIDS, as I watched "Dallas Buyers Club" I kept wondering how true this "based-on-a-true-story" movie was. The idea that gay men rallied around a homophobic, heterosexual rodeo rider who despised the men he was "helping" just didn't ring true. So, I did some research.
There are good articles on the Huff Post, the Guardian, and other sites indicating that Ron Woodruff, the hero of Dallas Buyers Club, was at least bisexual if not gay (according to his wife, who should probably know), and got along well with gays. The prejudiced homophobe depicted in the movie is a fiction. The transgendered character, Rayon, is a fiction. The female doctor with whom Ron flirts is a fiction.
Fiction is fine, but why SO many "fictions" that fly in the face of "truth"? I've read several reviews on IMDb praising the producers for having the guts to put such a difficult "truth" on screen. In my humble opinion, they've done the opposite. The truth is that gay men (including Ron Woodruff?) rallied and organized to fight HIV. While there were many concerned heterosexuals who helped, there were no homophobic cowboys riding their rodeo bulls to the rescue. But don't let the real truth stand in the way of creating a commercial product that can attract a wider audience and win a few acting awards for those involved.