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Sicko
Directed by: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore
Genre:
Documentary
Run Time: 123 min.
Release Date:
June 2007
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
If you have at least two
marbles rolling around in your head, you can’t watch SICKO and
not realize the extreme lopsidedness of this well-filmed documentary. I
should preface that comment with the fact that I’ve worked in the
medical field for over two decades and know full-well that the insurance
system in our country (the U.S.) is broken.
Having enjoyed Michael Moore’s previous documentaries (BOWLING FOR
COLUMBINE and FAHRENHEIT 9/11), there’s always been a problem
with his representation of only one side of the issues. Granted that
“the other side” pushes back in different ways (governmental
regulations, etc.), I feel Mr. Moore could improve his standing as an
upright denizen of justice (as he know doubt sees himself) if he would
pull in opposing views. Bowling and Fahrenheit did some of
that, but not much. And here with Sicko, Mr. Moore doesn’t do it
at all.
The biggest problem is that Mr. Moore shows the downtrodden in America,
those on the lower income scale (mostly), or those without homes (the
disoriented lady dropped off on a corner by a cab driver after being
released from a hospital), but doesn’t show this same economic class
when comparing insurance related issues in socialized countries (Great
Britain and France). In countries with socialized medicine, Mr. Moore
focuses his lens on the middle or upper class, making it seem that this
is the epitome of what the U.S. lacks. Socialized medicine is shown as
the golden chalice, something that will fix our ailing medical and
insurance industries. The fact is that socialized medicine probably
is what the U.S. needs, but we also need to see the downside
to it. Taxes will be affected heavily, wait times for
various tests will probably increase, and incomes for
doctors and other healthcare professionals will be
curtailed. The amazing thing to me is that I don’t find any of these
things off-putting. I’m willing to pay extra taxes, have increased
patient loads for tests, and to have my salary dropped ...if everyone in
our great nation could be covered.
For all its flaws, Sicko is entertaining. And it makes anyone who
watches it think about how messed up our healthcare systems are. Seeing
Cuba’s minimalist medical practices is fun to watch but Mr. Moore
doesn’t show their limited medical supplies. Watching him and his
entourage go to GitMo to try and get free healthcare was laughable and a
bit stupid, though (all he needed to do to prove that there is a
socialized system already in the U.S. is to go to a federal prison
...but that wouldn’t have been as dramatic).
If Mr. Moore wants to increase his exposure and retain a semblance of
authority on anything he films, he’ll need to improve his standards as
far as showing the issues from multiple viewpoints and multiple
socio-economic households.
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Image from Sicko
DVD cost: $14.73
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Sicko
opened in the U.S. exclusively on a single screen at the AMC Lincoln
Square theater in Manhattan the weekend of June 22–24, 2007, earning
$68,969 per screen, then opened nationwide the weekend of June 29–July
1, 2007, earning $4,501,712 in 441 theaters and achieving the second
highest nationwide opening weekend for a documentary, after Fahrenheit
9/11.
Movie Quote: "When
you don't spend money on someone, you save the company money."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Sicko
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