Sicko (2007)

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

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer:

Michael Moore

Stars:

Michael Moore, Tucker Albrizzi, Tony Benn

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

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

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:

man wears eyeglasses | health care | france | canada | cuba | 

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Taglines:

This might hurt a little.

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Moore's first PG-13 documentary since The Big One (1997).

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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

[first lines]
George W. Bush: We got issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their... their love with women all across the country.

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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

References The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

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Soundtracks

Canon
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Pachelbel
Sonoton Music Library

User Reviews

his best documentary so far

Brilliant documentary, with a softer, less angry Moore taking a good hard look at the current state of the inner-workings of the American private health care system, and comparing them to the universal systems in Canada, England, and France. The nay-sayers will argue that he's skewing his content, or simply choosing the worst HMO stories, but that's exactly what he has to do to drive his point home! The content here is far less controversial than in his previous films. It's widely known that, despite being one of the richest countries in the world, the states is far from best when it comes to taking care of their own.

The film gives the impression that Canadians wait an average of 45minutes to get seen at a hospital. Being a Canadian, I'll tell you right away that is not the case. There is an issue here in Canada with long wait times (both at the hospital and for major surgery), however, the system still works well, and everyone is taken care of, regardless of financial or social status.

Seeing sicko really made me realize just how much I take our universal health care system for granted. Some of the HMO horror stories Moore gives are shocking (to put it lightly).

While this film doesn't pack quite the punch, compared to Fahrenheit and Columbine, it's still going to turn a lot of heads. Everyone should see this movie.

Details

Official Sites:

Michael Moore Official Website Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Russian

Release Date:

3 July 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

SiCKO

Filming Locations:

Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$68,969, 24 June 2007

Gross USA:

$24,540,079

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$36,163,768

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dog Eat Dog Films, The Weinstein Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1