Sicko (2007)

A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories.

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer:

Michael Moore

Stars:

Michael Moore, Tucker Albrizzi, Tony Benn

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Michael Moore	...	Himself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tucker Albrizzi	...	Himself
Tony Benn	...	Himself
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Reggie Cervantes	...	Herself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hillary Rodham Clinton	...	Herself (archive footage)
Billy Crystal	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Graham	...	Himself
Aleida Guevara	...	Herself
William Maher	...	Himself
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Patrick Pedraja	...	Himself
Linda Peeno	...	Herself

Storyline

Documentary look at health care in the United States as provided by profit-oriented health maintenance organizations (HMOs) compared to free, universal care in Canada, the U.K., and France. Moore contrasts U.S. media reports on Canadian care with the experiences of Canadians in hospitals and clinics there. He interviews patients and doctors in the U.K. about cost, quality, and salaries. He examines why Nixon promoted HMOs in 1971, and why the Clintons' reform effort failed in the 1990s. He talks to U.S. ex-pats in Paris about French services, and he takes three 9/11 clean-up volunteers, who developed respiratory problems, to Cuba for care. He asks of Americans, "Who are we?"

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Plot Keywords:

hmo | france | canada | cuba | hospital | 

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Taglines:

What seems to be the problem?

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de] Offiical site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Russian

Release Date:

22 June 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bolesno

Filming Locations:

Denver, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£156,173 (UK) (26 October 2007)

Gross:

£156,173 (UK) (26 October 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dog Eat Dog Films, Weinstein Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Moore's first PG-13 documentary since The Big One.

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Goofs

The Italian version consistently mistranslates "bone marrow" as "spinal cord" (in Italian the two terms are more similar).

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Quotes

Michael Moore: [to a British couple in hospital] What'd they charge you for that baby?
British mother: [confused] I'm sorry?
Michael Moore: You gotta pay before you get out of here, right?
British mother: No.
British father: Na na na. Everything's on...
British mother: This is NHS.
British father: So no. It's not - it's not America.
[British couple laughs]

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Crazy Credits

"Americans interested in marrying Canadians for healthcare go to www.hook-a-canuck.com" (the actual website does not use the hyphens).

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Connections

Featured in Go' aften Danmark: Episode dated 27 August 2007 (2007)

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Soundtracks

"I'll See You in C-U-B-A"
Written by Irving Berlin
Performed by the Austin Lounge Lizards (as the Austin Lounge Lizzards)
Courtesy of Austin Lounge Lizzards

User Reviews

Michael Moore is the #1 patriot in USA, I hope people realize it now.

I can only hope this movie wakes some people up, especially those flag waving people who keep on repeating slogans like "greatest country in the world" etc. This could be a serious wake up call for a proud nation. I have always wondered how people can still call it the greatest country if it does not have universal health care, but maybe the reason is, they don't know any better. They do not realize that in other western countries this has been done for ages and it works.

People of USA should embrace Moore as the patriot he is. He wants the American PEOPLE all the best, but he gets sacrificed by the same people because he dares to speak about the government. But true patriots rise against governments too, if they are bad for the people. United states is not the flag, not the white house, not the senate, not the soaring eagle. It is the people living there, and this is what they have to remember. You can demand for universal health care, and you can vote for it.