5 Surprises from Matthew McConaughey's First 'Dallas Buyers Club' Trailer

The first trailer for Jean-Marc Vallee’s Dallas Buyers Club dropped today, and it surprises with a few unexpected elements mixed in with the Oscar-bait tactics some of us anticipated from the upcoming drama. Take a look at the tease, and we’ll discuss it below: 

 

Anytime we hear that a talented A-lister like Matthew McConaughey will drop nearly half his body weight to play an HIV patient for an end-of-year drama, our Oscars buzzers start going off. But the Dallas Buyers Club clip clued us into a few more interesting side turns. Namely: 

 

1. Jared Leto just might steal the show. That’s Leto as McConaughey’s cross-dressing business partner, and we’ve heard from several inside sources that he’s as strong an awards contender as McConaughey and the actual film. 

 

2. The movie’s more upbeat that you’d think. Yes, the central plot involves a man who’s told that he has roughly 30 days to live. But the anarchistic up-the-establishment mood of McConaughey’s drug-smuggling subplot gives the movie a lighter touch than expected. 

 

3. Dallas resembles We’re the Millers, if Millers were an Oscar contender. There are several scenes in the movie about drug dealing and drug smuggling, with a comical shot of McConaughey dressed as a priest in an effort to bring unapproved HIV medications across our borders. Something tells me we’re going to like Dallas more than Millers by year’s end. 

 

4. McConaughey’s Texas pride shines through. It didn’t strike me until I heard him speaking in character that the location of the story – Dallas, Texas – plays into the dusty, homegrown charms of McConaughey. And while he continues to grow as an actor with each passing role, this part in particular looks like it fits him like a (much skinnier) suit. 

 

5. Finally, this looks like a legitimate Oscar contender, through and through. It’s hard to pass judgment on a two-minute trailer, but the elements appear to be here for a successful Oscar run is several top categories. 

 

It helps that Focus moved Dallas Buyers Club up to an earlier release date, getting it into select theaters on November 1. We’re planning on catching Buyers in Toronto, so look for reports from that fest starting next week!