Friday, June 29, 2007

"Sicko" is pretty neat-o

I saw Michael Moore's new film tonight. Sometimes I like Michael Moore; his satire can be biting and funny and just plain entertaining. Sometimes (Bowling for Columbine, The Big One), I think he takes needless pot shots at innocent people to stretch a point.

I loved Fahrenheit 9/11. I know, I know, he "manipulated" facts. He wasn't fair or balanced; he omitted information that may have worked against his purpose, yadda yadda. Somehow, I think that was the point, or at least part of it; maybe even beside it. I didn't see F-911 as a true documentary; rather, I saw it as an attempt by someone to use the same tactics as this administration - kind of like bending George W over a log, "Dueling Banjos" playing in the background, and saying, "How do YOU like the treatment, Little Piggy?" Getting people to think that maybe the government had been -gasp - LYING!

Anyway. I really loved this latest movie, perhaps because it's the least cheap shot-laden of all his stuff, yet makes a very strong commentary on the US Healthcare system. He spends less (actually no) time skewering people in person, relying instead on film footage to do that for him (seriously, I'd like to see a movie made solely from the George W footage this man finds). He focus mostly on the stories of very likable people, and the film somehow manages to be inspiring while making you gasp at the appalling unfairness and greed, pissing you off as you watch things that just shouldn't happen here.

In each of his movies, he pulls some kind of stunt to prove a point; in F-9/11 it was commandeering an ice-cream truck and driving around the houses of Congress reading the Patriot Act to members of Congress through the loudspeaker. In "Sicko," the stunt he pulls is so delicious I was laughing out loud, and so poignant I wanted to cry.

So now I'm home with a new Tom Waits CD on. Something about listening to Tom Waits makes me feel like I'm in love.

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