I know I took my dear sweet time to see Michael Moore’s documentary “Sicko.”  After all, it was the talk of the Cannes Film Festival in May and I was there, and then it was in theaters for such a long time and I suppose I just don’t have any good excuse but all told it took me until past the DVD release date and I finally saw the film – on the big screen – and let me tell you what I think….

Michael Moore is the most hated and feared documentarian in the world for a good reason.  He’s obviously biased and he has a fearless determination to fight the dumb-fight.  And when I say “dumb-fight” I am specifically referring to the fact that the same reason Moore is so hated by those he takes on, which include, the car industry (in “Roger & Me”), gun lobby (in “Bowling for Columbine“), the Bush Administration (in “Fahrenheit 9/11“) and now the health-care industry (in “Sicko“) is the same reason he is brilliant. 

In this Academy Award nominated documentary, Moore’s unique and best technique as film-maker is to use his grating personality (now almost a cartoon-like persona) and pushiness, along with that annoying voice of his as the best and most powerful weapon in his arsenal.  After watching a fat and ugly man like Michael Moore marching around the streets of Paris, London and Havana self-realizing that his own country – America – is the worst out of all industrial countries in terms of the standard of medical care the average citizen receives, one can hardly be stupid enough to have the same realizations as he.

“Sicko” is a movie that every voter and tax-payer should watch.  Moore is a revolutionary with a camera in much the same way Che Guevarra was with a gun.  He brings a well-formulated propoganda message to the masses.  Yet, in Moore’s war he is over-matched by richer and more powerful enemies.  After witnessing 9/11 victims who are unable to receive adequate health care from the country they are ironically dubbed as heroes in, there is no way that anyone watching the film can not feel physically sick.  Perhaps the sickness that “Sicko” makes one feel inside for being powerless to do anything to make change.

That’s the biggest problem that Moore ultimately faces.  His films aren’t measured by box-office dollars any longer or by reactions of reviewers.  Moore’s films are judged by election results.  If Bush’s win despite the release of “Farenheit 9/11” is any measure of how effective that film was, then Moore’s war on hypocrisy is unachievable.  However, if over-time changes occur to the specific issues he shines a light on, his contribution can not be denied.

In the interest of furthering Moore’s cause of health-care reform in America, I have listed some upcoming FREE showings of his film “Sicko“:

Feb. 8, 7 PM, Palatine, IL
Feb. 9, 2 PM, Salt Lake City, UT
Feb. 10, 3 PM, Mount Holly, VT
Feb. 10, 6 PM, Denver, CO
Feb. 10, 7 PM, Fayetteville, AR
Feb. 11, 5:30 PM, Syracuse, NY
Feb. 11, 6 PM, San Andreas, CA
Feb. 21, 22, 5:45 PM, Dallas, TX
Feb. 22, Bozeman, MT
March 5, 6 PM, Lynn, MA
March 5, 6, 7, San Francisco, CA
Mar. 8, 1 PM, Valley Springs, CA
Mar. 16, 8 PM, Nova Scotia
April 18, 19, El Paso, TX

for further information check out his website – link here

to purchase “Sicko” on DVD – link here

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