Take Your Pills

Director: Alison Klayman
Year Released: 2018
Rating: 3.0

Documentarian Klayman touches on the history of regular use and abuse of ADHD and ADD medications (Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, etc.) among different groups of people: athletes, artists, programmers, financial analysts, TV executives and college students ... and how some need it to function and others think it'll help them do better in school/work, etc. What I like about this feature, which uses emojis and cartoonish effects, is how she tries to be as thorough as possible in a ninety-minute window (you know, for those with short attention spans) and covers multiple arguments for and against it, grabbing medical experts and professors, including Dr. Farah from UPenn (who doesn't believe, based on scientific testing, there is enough evidence that the meds 'enhance cognitive function') to discuss over-diagnosis and the gotta-get-ahead mentality of 21st century America. It never sticks the proverbial pitchfork in drug manufacturers like Shire for making huge profits on all this ... but then again "micro-dosing LSD" doesn't seem to me to be a particularly safe alternative (but I'm not a medical expert, I'm just a coffee-chugging teacher).