Sicko

[El Dingo]

Yes. It's as powerful as they say. Possibly the most important film of the decade. More damning than 'Fahrenheit 9/11' because it holds America up to a mirror and shows us how ugly we can be. I'm embarassed that this movie will be shown around the world.

You all know what it's about so I won't go into details.

The saddest thing about 'Sicko' is that I don't see any hope for change. As long as profit is valued over ethics in this country, all is lost.

[Drunk Monk]

I really enjoy how Moore works his documentaries - there's a sarcastic flow of ideas that are simultaneously funny and tragic. There's this weird 'reality tv' aspect of Moore's work, like we're supposed to forget there's a camera. The camera has a dramatic Heisenberg effect on the outcome of any interaction. It reminds me of Borat where you're hard pressed to tell the difference between the narrative thread and the snapshots of reality - what's real and what's staged - but as the plot moves along, you end up not caring and simply buying into the politics. Of course, I love the politics. Working for the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic for 20 years now, don't even get me started on the state of U.S. medicine. It's so pervasive - the same 'for profit' mentality has even penetrated HAFC - it's quite damning. The view of socialized medicine was excellent. I've only experienced China's commie medical system, which is terrifying for us, but probably services its community fairly well, all things considered. With China's population, all the government programs work on a totally different level. Everyone must make do with less. Sicko's Cuba cure scene was a contrived finale but effective. On the whole, DM agrees with ED's review. Is it time to move DOOM abroad?

[scapino]

I think we should all move to France. Good food, good wine, good porn, and good healthcare. A much larger pecent of the french population believes in evolution and other ideas that require both thought and free will. And I wager that none of the politicians there are so stupid as to think that renaming a Denver Omlette to a Detente Omlette in the French Parliment's cafaterria would be an important patriotic action worthy of the government's time and the people's money.
Regarding Sicko, I agree that the Cuba stuff started going over the top. I wish Moore could reign in some of his hyperbole like the kids playing in the streets of a happy and peaceful pre-invasion Iraq in Fahrenheit. It detracts from the message by giving his critics a clear path with which to attack. That said, it is hard to argue with the central point of Sicko, that are healthcare system is getting worse and with over 400 healthcare related lobbiests for each member of congress (that's about 214,000 jobs), it is not likely to get better following the current US model.
I loved the fact that Moore showed that the current HMO system has its roots in Nixon policy. This just illustrates what happens when you leave things up to a Dick!