'SiCKO' review

Rating: ***1/2 out of ****

"People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy."
- Bruce Wayne/Batman

I am sure it seems unusual to open a review for a hard-hitting documentary with a quote from Batman, but it is actually quite fitting. It seems that Batman and Michael Moore have two things in common: they are both looked upon by many as exaggerations or caricatures, and they both have a flair for using dramatics and theatricality to make a point.

'SiCKO', the new documentary by Moore, examines the U.S. Health Care System - as well as those from several other countries - and begs the question, "Why has America not adopted a universal health care system if so many other countries have proven that it can work?" The quick answer is because the American Health Care system is a business like any other, and their #1 priority is to make money, and shelling it out to heal people is not considered cost-effective. To build this argument, Moore takes us from the U.S. to Canada, France and even Cuba, comparing medical systems along the way, trying to find out exactly why the U.S. is ranked #37 in the world in terms of health care...just above Slovenia. The most dramatic example is when he takes a boat-load of 9/11 rescue workers - who now suffer the physical and psychological repercussions of their actions - to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba so that they may receive the same universal health care that the U.S. government gives Al-Qaeda terrorists. I will not divulge all information, but I will say it is shocking to see the differences between the health care system of the world’s richest nation and that of a supposed third world nation.

'SiCKO' may not have the wit and spark of 'Bowling For Columbine', which can make it feel a bit lagging at times, but thankfully it also doesn't contain the partisan rhetoric of 'Fahrenheit 9/11', which may make it Moore's most effective documentary to date. He seems to have stepped down off his soapbox a bit, if not entirely. There is a sense of a subdued arrogance here, which is a sign of a maturing filmmaker. What makes the film work so well is that he is not asking people to pick a side, but consider an issue and really examine what it is that’s going on. It is not about Democratic or Republican, but right or wrong. Its down side is that he does not, for one minute, allow an opening for a rebuttal or opposing argument. That may be a moot point, as by now we should all know what to expect from a Moore documentary - it is his film, his opinion and his argument he wants us to consider, not theirs. If you want their side of the story, go watch their movie. He is biased as hell, but he does not try to hide that fact.

Michael Moore has been called everything from a genius to anti-American, pundit to extremist. I will admit that I am not always a fan of his over-the-top, often-questionable methods, but both his topics and methods spark debates and I cannot ever see that being a bad thing. As long as people are talking about these issues rather than not, than I say by any means necessary. If people need dramatic example, than Moore sure brings it.