Director: Michael Moore
Year Released: 2007
Rating: 3.0
Agit-prop master and perpetual pest Moore swings a massive cudgel at the hopelessly corrupt American health care system which has rendered millions of us - yes, I'm included in this - without quality coverage and given headaches to those that do have coverage but are denied procedures they need. There's plenty of room to poke holes in some of Moore's arguments and biases - the Gitmo/Cuba visit and the view of Europe and Britain as being almost utopian ignores the glaring problems in all of those countries - and he doesn't delve much into the economics and population size matters (America's population is a lot larger than Canada, obviously) but I believe the overall point (also stated in other films by him) is solid: America is run by corporations, corporations are corrupt and this country doesn't give much of a damn about people who can't afford to care for themselves (sick workers are unproductive workers, and unproductive workers are useless in a capitalist system). Plus, and this is a point people miss about Moore: more than anything else, I genuinely believe the man cares about this country. Yes, he loves publicity and yes he loves fame - and he's not afraid of cheap juxtapositions - but it would be much easier to sit back and do nothing, but unlike our placid, fearful populace, he takes a stand and tries to make a difference. He can be infuriating, he can be biased, he can be smug, but he's also distinctively American.
