Pop Culture Buzz

**** STARS

Michael Moore’s “Sicko” crosses political lines and brings up a healthy debate about health care reform in the United States. For once Michael Moore isn’t picking sides, he is tapping into a human rights issue that has plagued our country for decades. How come the United States is #24 in health care standards and practices in the world? How did the HMO and pharmaceutical companies profits become more important than that of American’s health? Because all of these questions are rasied and because of the emotional rollercoaster I went through watching this film, I think “Sicko” is one of the best films of 2007 so far.

Michael Moore spends most of the time in “Sicko” travelling in other countries such as France and Canada where there is universal health care. People in the United States are routinely refused treatment based on their policies and the insurance carriers standards, and not what is best for their health. Moore does a good job at comparing the differences in these other Democracies health care sytems to ours.

Even “communist” Cuban’s get better health care than we do, the Cuban portion of the film is the most emotional segment in the movie by far. I was shocked to find out that President Nixon was one of the “conspirators” who made the decision to start the HMO system in the first place. If you are like me, you will walk away from this film in disbelief.

Michael Moore has a way of tugging at the heart strings and getting right to the emotional point. This isn’t a debate about politics or personal views, this issue effects us all. This film is Michael Moore’s most important film to date. I walked away knowing many people will avoid it due to Moore’s political views, which is too bad. This movie speaks more about ordinary American’s than any political party or personal agenda ever could.