Once again, Michael Moore demonstrates just how entertaining documentaries can be. Kudos for taking on a bloated and corrupt health care system and making a film that is provocative, insightful, heart breaking and hilarious. Whether you believe Moore doctors facts with a fictional glaze or manipulates the truth through deceptive editing, you can't deny the power of his argument and the pointed discussion it will likely provoke. Excellent!… Expand

Right now I have a horrible headache from chronic jaw-pain, so excuse any errors I miss. Saw 'Sicko' tonight and honestly I think it's a brilliant film. And as someone who the movie is not about, a twenty-three year old guy who hasn't had health care in quite some time, the story of those who do have healthcare was quite astounding. To see that regardless of how successful I might be the system will still tank and there will never be a time it simply works. To close, the notion of what the US could be like if none of us spent our days worrying or in fear about our health and money in that regards is frankly a revolutionary concept that should be on all our minds. That and the overall affecting quality of this film is why I've rated it a 10.… Expand

When his fat a** has a heart attack will he run to the Mayo Clinic or Cuba? He'll go to the Mayo... just like all the millionaires around the world do. They don't use the "great' systems in their own country... they come here. Just like Sicko will.

Michael Moore has given Americans a tremendous gift, he has shown them, in a funny, tender and fascinating film, that there are more humane ways to treat its citizens. Keeping people frightened, broke, uneducated, and jingoistic has created a passive public who knows nothing of the ways of the rest of the world.

Moore's best and most profound film! The humor and occasional antics are a refreshing break from what's basically a very sad and obscene story that no intelligent, objective American can deny. Hopefully, this will inspire a national cry for a health care system worthy of this great rich country, as well as some soul searching as to exactly what kind of people we Americans are to have allowed such corporate greed-based healthcare to persist. Must viewing for everyone who considers themselves a patriot, and that includes all those guys and gal running for President!… Expand

8 points for the good movie and 2 points for making anti-Moore losers upset ;)

Moore is so smug he irritates me even when I agree with him. And while I definitely agree that the health care system needs to be reformed, Moore conveniently glosses over the fact that the socialized health care systems he lauds kinda suck. Instead of socializing everything, we need to find a way for all people to be able to afford the health care they need while still giving patients and doctors control over their medical fates, and while still making it profitable to be a doctor. A balance between the two perspectives rather than Moore's wholesale rejection of personal profit and capital freedom.… Expand

Doesn't a documentary have to be honest to be taken seriously? Are we to believe that Cuba's health care system trumps America's? Even Fidel Castro sent to Spain for doctor's and equipment when he was ill. American president's don't have to bring in expertise from other countries when they are sick. The Canadian system works because those who need immediate and urgent care travel south and use the US safety net. Despite its weaknesses, the healthcare in America is second to none. I have been all over the world and spent months all over Europe and Asia and, trust me, you want to be ill in the US and nowhere else. Is the American system perfect? NO! "Democracy," it has been said, "is the worst form of government- except for all the others." American health care is the same. Those from other countries who purport to have a great system (Hello Canada) head to Mass General or the Mayo Clinic when the going gets tough. Watching Moore's movie, I was shaking my head. Given Myer's portly physique and obvious less than health conscious life-style, it will be interesting to see where Moore will seek his future care. One can't take this movie seriously unless he or she has some sort of bias against American healthcare to start. There is nothing in this movie but a bunch of one-off negatives strung together and interspersed with the one-off, off-shore staged positives for the purpose of painting a dishonest, unbalanced picture. I used to like Moore's films but that was before I knew he actually got the interview he claimed not to get in "Roger and Me." I have opened my eyes and, although I paid to see this film, I will not give Moore another dime until he makes an honest film. Documentaries should not be selective in order to make the director's point. Moore has gone way off base.… Expand

I can't wait until these fat a**, religious nutjobs, who call themselves patriots and Christians, get denied health care by their insurance companies. That's OK, they don't need it, Jesus Saves!

Ignore the naysayers: Socialized medicine works because the "base pool" of group members is the WHOLE COUNTRY.

I find it disappointing that so many American residents are so quick to write off Moore. Most who write him off are Bush loyalists who are smitten with their chosen ignorance and even more smitten with their judgment over others. Moore has proven himself to be right about all of the issues he addressed in past movies and time has vindicated him, though the Moore haters continue to hate. These are also ironically the good Christians of the land as well. "Don't question, it shows a lack of faith." What a shame. I feel sad for America, as many of these willing ignorant folks are losing ground to these very issues Moore champions. Guns, War, Terrorism, Health care... We ALL use health care and we all are at risk of losing it all with a serious illness. There is much to be gained by creating a system of health care where we are all covered and cared for. This is universal. The right hates Michael Moore why? I just don't understand. Unless they are protecting their vital interests. And these folks claim a moral high ground.… Expand

Josh, What is so negative about what he is saying in the movie....Even if he exaggerates things and distorts some truths, there is a positive message. Why can't people just watch a movie and become aware of a problem. This movie does not in anyway deserve a zero. The facts of josh are distorted as well. So who do you want to side with Moore- A guy that wants to fix a major problem in the U.S. or Josh- Someone who gets angry with someone who tries to make us aware of a problem. When you burn for this one I won't feel bad...… Expand

How can you not appreciate this movie?! Oh yeah, If you are part of the problem.

Not Moore's best or my favorite of his movies, but it is for sure entertaining and educating. Say what you want about facts/figures/data...the movie reveals more corporate thuggery and power playing that avg. citizens never know about until those power decisions impact our lives.

It was a good movie. Much better than Fahrenheit 911. But honestly should Metacritic have included New York Post's review?

Some good points re: the polical power of HMO and the denials that people suffer yet he does cherr pick cases so much that he loses credibility and does not offer a plan.

This movie pissed me off and made me want to cry at the same time. Michael Moore was able to assemble all of the scattered pieces of a health care horror tale that have been out there for a long time. It is about time that someone did it. While I do not believe that all sides of the arguments he was making were represented to the fullest extent, I am not sure if it is because that is what is true or if it is just what I want to believe. It is hard to come to terms with the idea that you are being duped in such a gross and disgusting way. It made me want to move out of this country.… Expand

An engaging documentary with a legitimate point. Moore's films have become less political and more humanitarian in recent years.

Extremely informative.. i was glued to the television. it didn't need to necessarily entertain you over-thinkers with your BIG words.. for me- your average everyday bi-ethnic female working student- it was interesting, informative, and absolutely frightening. Criticize all you want- tis your job to do so- but bottom line... it has changed my view of my little world... and thus has made a difference.… Expand

Judged strictly as an entertainment Moore's film is not very edifying; judged as a vehicle for this country's most critcal domestic crisis it is extremely effective. He doesn't shy away from the problems of single payer health care and yet it takes no stretch to see that other countries are much better off with it than without it.

Michael Moore's work is complete trash. I will not support someone who does not respect our country's president. God bless America!

Moore brings up many valid points in Sicko, such as: why can't the richest country in the world (the US) manage to provide universal healthcare, when much poorer counties are able to provide better healthcare than we have? Also, why should we be denying people their basic right to healthcare just because they don’t have enough money to afford it? Lastly, why should the power to decide who receives treatment and who does not be put in the hands of large corporations that are only interested in making money, not saving lives? As Moore shrewdly points out in this documentary, our healthcare system is deeply flawed, but it is not too late to change it. As for Riren claiming that Moore presents no factual evidence to support his claims, that’s simply incorrect. Remember how Moore shows that the Unites States is #42 on the list of countries with the lowest infant mortality rates? I guess you must have missed that Riren, or probably ignored it because you can’t handle that the US is behind countries such as Cuba and Taiwan in infant mortality rates. This statistic shows that there is something wrong with how we manage our healthcare in America, and although our country is wealthy, only the upper-class really receives the benefit of good healthcare. Think of what a mess our country would be if our education system or police departments weren’t provided by the government. Companies that provided education or police departments wouldn’t be looking out for the common good of the people; they would only be trying to make money, and only providing for those who had money to give. This hypothetical explains why our healthcare system is so corrupt. It’s time to realize that we live in a social democracy, and that the basic needs of the people, like healthcare, and education, must be provided by the government, not by greedy corporations.… Expand

It seems TIME's review score doesn't match up. I read TIME's review of Sicko, and it doesn't seem like a "50" as Metacritic is reporting. It's a generally positive review, more like a 70 or 80 at least. I love Metacritic, but it seems way off on this score. And I know that affects the overall score, because TIME is weighted heavily, I'd imagine.

While it might have its flaws (the glamorization of the Canadian heath care system for starters), it's a decent look at a serious problem.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit because it speaks the truth. I didn't like Fahrenheit 9/11 at all, and after that movie I didn't like michael moore at all either, but after watching this it really redeems him. I find it funny that all the zero's given on this site do not address the film but rather are personal insults on the man himself!

Moore does an excellent job in presenting a "big picture" of managed care: the basic problems and their origins. He also succeeds in making the viewer believe there may be alternatives that can work much better, as reflected in the Canadian, British, and French systems. He is covering so much territory, however, that the individual stories of patients affected by managed care are not fully developed to the point that the human cost can be fully felt or appreciated. The last part of the movie, connecting 911 with health care in Cuba, seems almost like a separate movie--but is nonetheless entertaining. Overall, although not a complete "artistic" triumph, and hardly "objective," this movie will likely have a much bigger long-term affect on public opinion and policy than Moore's prior efforts.… Expand

So many reviewers seem to have such disdain for Moore that he could have made Citizen Kane and they'd still try to tear down every aspect of the film. They seem to make the review so personal, instead of looking at the film and casting Moore aside. Sicko may not be perfect, it may slant to the left and simplify a VERY complex issue,, but it does magnify a very real problem facing America. And, sadly, most Americans need a simplified explanation of the healthcare issue if they are to begin to understand and care about the issue beyond a passive once-over. Regardless of whether you swing from the left, right, or middle, SICKO does force its viewers to look at America's failures in providing adequate health care. Clearly, our system is flawed, it serves the rich and pisses on the poor, and puts profit before ethics time after time. This film offers few solutions, but it does attempt to spark a fire that will hopefully spread to real debate and lead to real change. And, maybe most importantly, it forces viewers to ask themselves one critical question: "How can the richest country in the world treat its ailing citizens so damn poorly?"… Expand

His best film yet. I really hope a lot of people see this movie and demand change.

I give it 2 points for the excellent photography in London and Paris, but this is otherwise an awful movie. Imagine if Bill O'Reilly had some sort of conversion and woke up as a leftie, and did the same arrogant-blowhard-pundit routine on his show - describing something he hates, then explaining how something else he hates is the cause of the 1st thing, and oversimplifying or distorting where necessary. If you were trying to parody a Moore film, you couldn't have done so any better than "Sicko", and after 6 years of George Bush I'm pretty sick of incoherent ranting. A quick summary of this movie is as follows: the American health care system is evil and does nothing right, the Canadian, British, French, and Cuban systems are good and do nothing wrong, and America is a horrible society by implication. Health politics, by their nature, are a VERY complex and subtle topic - the American system does some things well and other things poorly, and llots of people in France, Canada, and the UK are dissatisfied with their care - but Moore is about as subtle as a plane crash, and doesn't even discuss how these systems work or what the causes of any of their problems are. Which means, of course, that he offers nothing by way of solutions.… Expand

A fire engine pulls up to your burning house and inquires about your various "qualifications" to receive 'fire eradication services' since "profits" need to be highly regarded (over people) in a 'well-intentioned' service that DOES need to pay great attention to the 'bottom line' so they can survive and provide such "service." Hmmmmm, what's that definition of "insanity" again? My own family members (with and without insurance) ALL are making decisions skewed by a HUGELY broken and inhumane system!!!!! One w/ the "best" coverage is planning to have all assets eventually absorbed by long term care. Another has no motivation to buy major medical because the most likely need for it will be for conditions that would be deemed "pre-existing." A man I know that runs a fire station near me has put off treatment for a hip for a long time in order to better "play" the system full of caveats and loopholes. It will allow his wife and kids to have more the benefit of the policy. We DO like our sports here in the good old U.S. of A. and I've heard over and over of those forced to "play" one's insurance company in order to favor what's deemed as more needed care (putting off even 'preventative' care) also to avoid higher premiums. The system is DRUNK on money and situated squarely on the nose of "denial." The American "democracy" needs to rise up and do a MAJOR "intervention." Perhaps then (when GM doesn't have to have $1500 of every new car earmarked for health costs) the displaced insura-pharma industrial complex workers can help to build automobiles that can compete on an international "level" playing field. How's THAT for sports!… Expand

Complete Garbage as usual from the fat man. Wonder when he'll start worry about his own health care, that's the reall issue here, maybe he should do a sequel called Fatso.

A terrific movie. I sure hope it helps in bringing us universal health care. If we took the defense budget and used it for health care we probably wouldn't even have to pay more taxes. And who cares if we do pay more taxes, it probably evens out when you don't have to pay health insurance or health costs. And even better, sick people could get treatment.

I think it's hilarious that this film didn't get perfect scores across. It highlights the Health Lobby's broad financial power. Anyone who says this film is bad, has an agenda.

An excellent expose of how corporate greed triumphs over health care for all. I noticed that the negative reviews focus on Michael Moore's manipulation of facts. Well, there's still the cold reality that over 40 million Americans (over 15% of our country) does not have health insurance and access to the health care that the rest of us have. And that includes 8 million children, who are disadvantaged through no fault of their own. For those waving the flag of capitalism - let's not forget that pure capitalism puts profit ahead of people, because poor and sick people are a bad investment. Look at how the pharmaceutical industry (the most powerful lobby in the country) manipulates government legislation -- open your eyes, American public!… Expand

He's right, of course. And he makes his point quickly. Along the way we chuckle at past obsessions and recoil at the present. As worthwhile as the subject matter, nevertheless Sicko goes lame-o by sentimentalizing every encounter into a sob-fest and romanticizing our global neighbors, who share a ration of trouble themselves. if only he had dressed the wound ed system more astringently.

I cried, I laughed, and I saw my own experiences in this film. it gave me hope as well that things can change here - if we just realize there is a better way, we can get there. I rarely want to see films again, but I want to see this again.

"We cannot for a second abandon propaganda" wrote Fidel Castro in a letter to a revolutionary colleague in 1954. “Propaganda is vital -- propaganda is the heart of all struggles.” Michael Moore claims that Cuba's Stalinist regime played it as straight with him during the filming of Sicko, his new documentary, as he plays it with its viewers. “I asked them to give us [the 9/11 workers featured in the documentary] the same care they give their own Cuban citizens," he assured us. "No more, no less. And that’s what they did.” You cringe at having to contest this in full public view. Does anyone with a fully-functioning brain actually believe it? Will I insult America's intelligence by pointing out something so appallingly obvious as the absurdity of Moore's claim? You would like to think the forthcoming refutation by Dr Julio Alfonso, a Cuban Doctor who defected in 1999, is too obvious to require publication and circulation. But sadly, history shows that Castro's propaganda (as disseminated by his agents, both on the payroll and off) has an odd--if mercifully temporary-- effect on cerebrums that otherwise function normally, even exceptionally. This effect is similar to the one sugar in the gas tank has on an automobile engine. As a recent and tragic example of this phenomenon, recall that in April of 2000, after a Dan Rather 60 Minutes interview with Elian Gonzalez's father, polls showed that 70 percent of Americans firmly believed that this father -- a subject of a Stalinist regime who was surrounded by Castro plainclothes police while in the very CBS studio -- was acting completely free from coercion. So let's go ahead and allow Dr. Julio Cesar Alfonso, who worked within Cuba's health-care system for years, to remind America of something that should be blatantly obvious: "The treatment Moore and the rescue workers receive in the film was done specifically for them, because the regime knew it would make great propaganda." Dr Alfonso had barely finished his interview with the Miami Herald when something titled "Havana Hospital" launched a website. "After being featured in the Cannes Film Festival-honored film SICKO, we are now open for Medical Tourism to Cuba," says the banner. "We welcome you with peace and goodwill without any concern towards politics or propaganda. We are very good surgeons ready to help." Among the featured bargains are: "Breast augmentation/ implants for only $1,500 (through the belly button procedure.)" 99 percent of Cubans have no more experience with a hospital like the one featured in Sicko than Michael Moore has with a Soloflex. Most Cubans view a hospital like the one featured in Sicko the way teen-age boys used to view Playboy magazine: "If only!" For an accurate picture of what the average Cuban undergoes in healthcare, please visit the harrowing pictures smuggled out of Cuba (at enormous peril) and posted on TheRealCuba website. If a picture is normally worth a thousand words then these are worth a million. In Sicko, Moore parrots the Castroite claim that Cubans live longer than Americans. In fact, the figures are practically identical, which actually casts Cuba's vaunted health care in a negative light. In all nations with high emigration rates longevity rates skew high. This occurs because the birth is recorded but the death gets recorded in the nation migrated to. So it seems like fewer people die. Naturally, the opposite effect appears in nations with a large influx of immigrants. The death is recorded but the birth was recorded in the nation immigrated from. So, generally speaking, a nation with high longevity but known to hemorrhage its people has little to boast about with regards to longevity figures. All they're proving is that theirs is a miserable place to live from which massive numbers of people flee. And few nations hemorrhage people like Cuba. Almost 20 percent of its population since the glorious revolution. This 20 percent of Cuba's population, let's not forget, represents those who got out with the clothes on their back and against enormous odds. Had Cuba followed the norms of all civilized nations in allowing free emigration with family, property, etc. (as in pre-Castro Cuba, when almost nobody left), Cuba today (statistically speaking) would boast the highest longevity rates in the annals of man's history. As eagerly expected by Michael Moore's Cuban case officers, Sicko's screening was the signal for their other propaganda assets to chime in. "Cuba has developed the world's first Meningitis B vaccine which is available in Third World countries but not in Europe or in the United States due to U.S. sanctions," reported Anthony Boadle from Reuters' Havana bureau last week. Of this 27 word sentence, by a news agency considered authoritative worldwide, exactly 14 words are true. This vaccine is not available in the U.S. and Europe -- but hardly because of "sanctions.” In fact, in 1999, Bill Clinton's Treasury Department granted the pharmaceutical giant SmithKline Beecham a license to market the Cuban vaccine in a joint venture with Castro’s medical ministry -- pending FDA approval. And why not? Castro’s minister of public health, Carlos Dotres, had hailed the vaccine as "the only effective one in the world!” Highly impressed, Bill Clinton's FDA chief Dr. Carl Frasch said it could annually prevent "1000-2000 cases" of the dread disease in the U.S. 110 U.S. Congressmen promptly signed a special letter to Secretary of State Madeline Albright beseeching her to allow this breach of the diabolical embargo, if only to protect the lives of America’s children! That was eight years ago. The reason the vaccine is not available today in the U.S. and Europe is simply that, like so many other Castroite concoctions and proclamations dutifully trumpeted by news agencies who earn Havana bureaus, the vaccine is a farce and its sale a swindle. And, at least in this case, most civilized countries refuse to help propagate the swindle on their citizens. Some Third World countries discovered the swindle the hard way. "Brazil has wasted $300 million on a Cuban vaccine that is completely ineffective,” wrote Dr. Isaías Raw, director of Sao Paolo’s prestigious Butantan Institue specializing in Biotechnology. A study by Brazil’s Centro de Vigilancia Epidemiológica (Center for Epidemiological Research) from 1999 seconded Dr Raw: "The studies conducted on the use of the Cuban vaccine in children under 4 years old—the major risk group for hepatitis B—showed no evidence that the vaccine protected them against the disease. This vaccine should not be recommended.” All current medical literature flatly asserts that despite countless attempts, "no effective vaccine against the Meningitis B has yet been developed." The pharmaceutical giant Novartis is currently testing one and claims to be close to its development. Sadly for Castro, the medical establishment abounds with men and women who stubbornly cling to their professional ethics. Enlisting their full cooperation presents challenges much more daunting than enlisting the cooperation of sympathetic news agencies and a portly filmmaker obsessed with vilifying his country. A few years back Castro, launched his "Doctor Diplomacy" wherein he started sending Cuban "doctors" to heathen lands (though their spouses and children were held hostage in Cuba) to heal the sick and raise the dead. This was coupled with "free" treatment of poor foreigners from the Carribbean and Latin American nations in Cuban hospitals. The scheme has gotten no end of gushy reviews in the major media. Some less prominent reviews might add perspective. Especially as these report much closer-range observations of the scheme along with follow-ups. Here's one from the newspaper The Jamaican Gleaner titled, "Eye Surgery Hopes Dashed; Patients Suffer Complications," which notes: "The survey included 200 patients (Jamaicans who traveled to Cuba for eye surgery) and of that group, 49 patients - nearly a quarter - experienced post surgery complications. According to Dr. Albert Lue, Head of Ophthalmology in Jamaica’s Kingston Public Hospital, the complications causing the patients impaired vision was corneal damage and damage to the iris due to poor surgical technique." "Since I come back, from Cuba," said George Foster, a 70-year-old Jamaican participant in the Cuban "Miracle Operation," "I can see from the right eye but I can't see from the left." Brazil also got a birds-eye view of Cuba's vaunted "Doctor Diplomacy." "96 Cuban Doctors Expelled from Brazil” starts the April, 2005 story from Agence France-Presse. "Federal judge Marcelo Bernal ruled in favor of a demand by the Brazilian state of Tocantins’ Consejo Regional de Medicina (Regional Council on Medicine) that Cuban doctors be prohibited from practicing in their state.” Based on the results they’d achieved with Tocantins' residents, the judge referred to the Cuban doctors as Witch Doctors and Shamans. We cannot accept doctors who have not proven that they are doctors.” According to a report by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, over 75 per cent of "doctors" with Cuban "medical degrees" flunk the exam given by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates for licensing in the U.S. This exam is considered a cakewalk even by the graduates of Mexico’s Tec de Monterrey School of Medicine. Most Cuba-certified doctors even flunk the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates' exam for certification as "Physician Assistants," making them unfit in the U.S. even as nurses. None of this is meant to disparage these hapless men and women who were simply cursed by fate to be born under a Stalinist tyranny, nor those who took it upon themselves to overcome that curse and who today enjoy the blessings of liberty while employed in other fields. I'm simply disclosing some facts Michael Moore's Cuban case officers are desperate to hide. Here are a few more: * According to the same report by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the mortality rate of Cuban children aged 1 to 4 is 34 percent higher than the U.S. (11.8 versus 8.8 per 1000). But these don't figure into U.N. and World Health Organization spotlighted "infant-mortality rates." So apparently the pressure (so far) is not on Cuban doctors to fudge these figures. * In April 2001, Dr. Juan Felipe García MD of Jacksonville, Florida, interviewed several recent doctor defectors from Cuba. Based on what he heard, he reported the following: "The official Cuban infant-mortality figure is a farce. Cuban pediatricians constantly falsify figures for the regime. If an infant dies during its first year the doctors often reports he was older. Otherwise such lapses could cost him severe penalties and his job." * Cuba's infant mortality rate, though it plunged from 13th lowest in the world pre-Castro to 40th today -- is also kept artificially low by an abortion rate of 0 .71 per live birth, the Hemisphere's highest by far which "terminates" any pregnancy that even hints at trouble. * More tragic still, the maternal mortality rate in Cuba is almost four times that of the U.S. rate (33 versus 8.4 per 1000). Peculiar how so many mothers die during childbirth in Cuba. And how many 1-4 year olds perish, while from birth to one years old (the period during which they qualify in U.N. statistics as infants) they're perfectly healthy. At the very least, such statistics should lead people to question Cuba's official infant-mortality figures. They may not make for a flattering portrait of Cuba, but unlike Michael Moore’s documentary, they have the virtue of being true.… Expand

An incredibly engaging, touching movie. A bit heavy handed at times, but whoever believes documentaries are simply statements for facts are being a little naive. This movie inspires one to change this nation, which is an awesome accomplishment. Or at least it inspires one to look deeper into our national psyche, and wonder who the government truly serves.

What the heck do film critics know about the complexities and vagaries of the multitude of health care proposals currently being discussed in the US? How can they say Moore is simplifying things when they don't even know what they are talking about. I guess the nature of a critic really is to find something to criticize. Those who can do. Those who cannot become critics. Diss Moore if you must, but don't claim that he is simple, or that your position qualifies you as expert on all topics. A doctor would not claim to know whether Moore's directorial style was intentionally simple, uninformed, or genius. Nor should movie folk criticize the somewhat sophisticated content of this documentary.… Expand

Starting from the U.S. healthcare debacle, Moore artfully expands his focus to reveal other issues that raise profound questions about who we are as a people. These include the domination of our democratic institutions by totalitarian corporations, our resulting sense of powerlessness, and the use of indebtedness and economic insecurity to dampen political activism in the interests of social control. After showing positive examples of other governments that take good care of their people, he asks us to consider whether our focus on individual rather than collective well-being is really as positive as we seem to believe. I left the theater asking myself, as I will now ask you, "what can we do to take back our country from these plutocrats who think that killing tens of thousands of people abroad is more important than meeting the urgent needs of our people?"… Expand

See this movie today! In any advanced, progressive society it seems that certain fundamental things things should be taken care of. One of them is definitely basic health care and Michael Moore shows - through the lives of random people - that this is just not happening here in the U.S. When one compares that fact to the fact that health care and insurance companies are making billions of dollars of profit each year - it seems that maybe the system is a little screwed up. It will make you sad and it will make you mad . . . go see it today!… Expand

A definite wake up call for the health industry. That it will not be business as usual for this profit driven industry. Where it puts profits in front of care. We are the greatest nation in the world, but yet we cannot provide even the basic of care to someone who needs it. Hard hitting fantastic. Loved it.

Sure it's borderline propaganda. But it is my type of propaganda. Americas medical system is a joke for more reasons that Moore points to. My HMO selected doctor knows nothing about nutrition. All she can do is prescribe overpriced, toxic and dependence inducing drugs. My last prescription was antibiotics at 60 dollars a pill for a sinus infection. Don't worry about it she says, the copay is the same. Her advice on safe sex was don't have sex with anyone who's not from America! WTF? My HMO costs my employer 7000 dollars a year!!!! Biggest scam ever!… Expand

Wake up America and smell the money going to the wrong guys. I refuse to vote for anyone who does not believe in universal healthcare. Why as a country are we having so much trouble with healing our people. After all this country is suppose to be about the people not who can get richer. When profits are put in front of care than we need to stand up and holler untill our government hears us. All those people who say I got mine I am not going to worry about the next guy is not a good American. For those that speak up and holler untill they are heard is a good American and that is what I see M. Moore doing. He is hollering for all of us. How long are we going to watch Americans treated like this. I am paying close attention to who I vote for and it won't be a Clinton again all they did was push the Welfare people around instead of coming across with thier promises and now we got mothers leaving thier children to go to work and the healthcare is still not reachable to many of our fellow Americans. What a mess we have going on here. Lets open our minds and hearts to those less lucky Americans that have to worry about thier childrens care while they work then thier education and healthcare and then sending them to war. Not all of our people are getting basic needs in this country when so many are getting rich.… Expand

What a load of Socialist propaganda! Oh, pinko commie Michael Moore thinks he can change America. Not from my dead hands I say. I love our health care system. I love dealing with the administrators from my HMO. They are awesome! Why don't you leave America Moore? Us idiots can give our paychecks to big business happily rather than having yet another tax!

Talk about blithering anti-american propoganda. Interesting that with Cuba's superior health care, Castro has brought in French physicians for his own care.

The path to reason in this film is cluttered with too many half-truths so as to be reliable to researchers. In my opinion, half-truths are worse than lies as they befuddle the intellect of the average man. I have worked with doctors from Canada who state that MM is very wrong.

I was very surprised at this movie, it is a very effective documentary of the various health care systems of the world. Many will say that Moore is at it again, but I think he has shown (again) what a remarkable filmmaker he really is. I wept during one scene, and I never weep (maybe get teary every once in a awhile...), it was devastating to see and hear these horrible incidences happening to regular, hardworking people. You can say what you will about Michael Moore (I don't agree with some of his positions personally), but his movie has done an excellent job of exposing our country's completely broken and corrupt system of health care, and hopefully the dialog surrounding this movie will move politicians to rethink their position on universal health care.… Expand

Its abouttime someone gave this problem the attention it deserves,the movie was awesome.

Moore's style may infuriate critics, but if you ignore that for a moment and concentrate on the subject matter & content, it's hard not to be moved to tears at the plight of average Americans. I'm from Canada, and although we have some problems with our system, they pale in comparison to the US model. How long will people tolerate corporations and their tactics for making money? Some day America is going to crumble under the weight of all the social injustice like this. At least Moore wants to do something about it, and I commend him for that.… Expand

What is he trying to prove? why do Canadians come to America for healthcare? Because it's the BEST in the world.Socialized medicine is for third world countries. We need better options, remove employers from healthcare and make it like car insurance. If the government runs healthcare everyone loses. look at the dmv, medicare, disability, walter-reed govt. hospital, etc..

The most important and eye opening movie I have seen in years. No, actually the most important and eye opening movie I have seen, ever. It is so easy to paint a picture of Michael Moore as a storyteller and manipulator of facts, but his message cannot be ignored; the American health system is seriously flawed, and many countries the world over with less wealth are managing to keep their sick as healthy as is humanly possible, their only reward being that their patients live on. It's funny how so many critics will try and discredit his facts and his documentaries and yet are unwiling to accept that their corrupt and lying political leaders are benefiting from their misery, and their inability to do anything about it. So many right-wingers have reigned supreme for so many years that any true liberal worth his salt is immediatly mocked and ridiculed. How about a bit of balance here folks. You've had right wing neo-cons brainwash you for years, and now we have an advocate for the people. You can talk about agendas and alterior motives all you want. Michael Moore has balls of steel. Period. And that is a fact.… Expand

Working in the healthcare profession, I see lots of people who are faced with the challenges of recovering. However I often see patients discussing how their bill is going to get paid, rather than them focusing on getting better. I think this was a wonderful documentary, and a wake up call to everyone.

It was all right, wasn't the best documentary I've seen.

Who looks stupid now Kyle Smith? You're a conservative hack. I call you 25.

Sicko is a really moving film. The one thing that is really wrong with the US for people living there is the health care system. Moore dramatically points out just how bad it is. The film is also coming at a good time, it should help push the US to a saner, better form of health care and make the place a much better place for US citizens.

Michael Moore is the greatest documentary filmaker in the business today and although i do not believe this is his very best film, I do believe it is the first one to truely have a chance to inflict change. There are many people who downplay Moore's films because they quite obviously have an agenda and a film with an agenda, that is filled with opinions must have no presedence when it comed to the search for truth. Sounds like a viable arguement, however it is highly inaccurate. Moore's supposed half truths, are backed up by tons of medical and financial evidence that can be researched to what will feel like no end. If Moore was to sit and go over this endless stream of facts, than he would be an informative individual and probably work well as a journalist on Frontline, but not much of a filmmaker. What makes Moore such an exceptional filmmaker is his ability to entertain as well as educate. I laughed, I cried, and I clapped more than at any movie I've been to this year. This gives you facts and opinions from not only journalists, but people. In fact the majority of the evidence in this film is provided by people. Whether it is French telling you how wonderful there system is or Americans telling you there horror stories or a former British Parliament speaker explaining why socialized medicine works in our nation but not in theres, we are given an overwhelming amount people telling you the truth about there personal experience in healthcare. This is what seperates this film from any previous film and makes it the vehicle that it is. It is Moore's ability to connect us with each individual personally and give a face to the stories we have heard. This makes it much harder to just ignore it and go along with your day. And on top of all this Moore, as usual, has his end sequence where he appears as the leader of a movement. Much like he did in Columbine and 911 ( taking the shot children of Columbine to K-Mart to get rid of bullets and asking Senators and Congressman in Washington to sign up there kids for the war effort with Cpl Henderson) Moore gets a large group together to make a point. This time it is to get 9/11 rescue workers the care there country is not giving them. This turns out to be the most effective effort Moore has ever shot on Camera. Moore is a documentary filmmamker unlike any other. A man who makes highly informative work that can be enjoyed as entertainment and not just watched as education. I have come to look forward to Moore's movies as much as I look forward to a summer blockbuster. It is sad that Mr. Moore is someone to look forward to, but as long as there are problems with this country there is a call for someone to push change. I can't think of a better person.… Expand

This easily Moore's most accessible and effective film yet. For three reasons. One, it's funny and sad and true. Two,it goes beyond politics and touches people of every persuasion. And three, the country is ready for a change. It's just the "powers that be" are not ready to make that change - just look how congress is hogtied in trying to deal with immigration - another issue that everyone agrees needs fixing. A question for Metacritic on the Richard Corliss, Time magazine rating. Why only a "50" when it reads like a rave? "Socko" as defined by my dictionary is "stunningly effective or successful". I know that's just a blurb but in reading the whole review it still sounds live a total winner. Too bad because it brings the overall rating down.… Expand

Gut-wrenching look at our failed health care system.

... and blind allegiance to a cruel, duplicitous and abusive agitprop filmmaker is even funnier (sadder?) than blind patriotism. After all, stickin' it to the man has GOT to be justified, right? Well, no. The problem with Moore's latest exercise in this tired genre is that it's, well, wrong on essentially everything. I will, however, give him three stars for at least raising the topic on film. David Denby's New Yorker review is spot on and rehashes what any intelligent viewer noted by the time of "Bowling For Columbine" if not right off the bat in "Roger & Me"... that Moore is not only transparently manipulative but fundamentally misanthropic. Ever notice how routinely he uses and discards the weakest people whom he dragoons into his films? As for international realities... take it from someone who has actually lived them in two of the countries Moore profiles. What a surprise that British doctors make a comfortable six-figure salary. Does it occur to anyone that this is because the state must compete with the parallel private British mdical system for talent? As an NHS customer in the early '90s I can tell you that I would have been on the first plane from London to New York had I gotten seriosuly ill. Fortunately the private sector forced the gov't to reform the NHS because it was so incredibly bad. Today it has improved dramatically to mediocre. And as for Canada (where I currently live) it might be more enlightening to consult nationwide statistics on ER waiting times (closer to 5-12 hours) than to cherry pick a London, Ontario ER and find that no one has been there for longer than 45 mins. Any guesses on how many ERs Moore had to film before finding that outlier? And what a stunning revelation to find that certain American HMOs and managed care organizations abuse(d) customers? Be glad you're American so that you have a choice to switch to another provider (like a PPO, for example... you get what you pay for.) Guess what happens in workers' paradises like Canada and Cuba when you get abused? You have no alternative. At best, you wait. And sometimes get crippled (like my friend with a separated shoulder who waited six months to see an orthpedist for proper treatment.) Sometimes you die. If you must, see "Sicko" (as I did) on You Tube; spare yourself the commute to and from the cinema and the crime of funding the national embarrassment that is Michael Moore. A better use of your three hours, however, is to actually learn something about American health care and how to reform it by reading Canadian doctor (and New York resident) Brian Gratzer's "The Cure," recently published in hardback. People around the world these days say that Americans are on average naive, gullible dupes. I disagree strongly based on extensive experience; however, the continuing domestic popularity of Michael Moore makes me wonder...… Expand

Wake up America, or actually get sick and find out for yourself the hard way. Thankfully Micheal Moore has the guts to point out flaws in our country, we should all be thankful we live in a country we can point the finger at ourselves- at least for now we can. Keep fighting the good fight Mr. Moore. Thank you.

Blind patriotism and mindless allegiance is funny.

Who, oh who could predict that the NY Post would give it a bad review? And that the '0's of the user reviews don't seem to be commenting on the bloody movie, but on the gall of a film maker to question that maybe things behind the scenes are messed up.

more left wing garbage from this fraud! i can't stand the sight of this man, he makes me want to puke. he's anti-corporate approach is stupid. wealth creates wealth. and Mr. Heston has a right to bear arms, it's in the constitution. Mr. Moore, can you please stop making films that denounce people's rights. if this asshole ever got into office, I'd find the nearest bridge.

One of the richest countries in the world (America)has one of the WORST health care systems and Moore gives the American people the truth, and a moral wake up call for humanity. Everyone should see SiCKo. People that gave this a bad review just don't like Moore period, and are extreme right wing crap of society. Moore asks a question should people be loosing there lives (or normal functions in life) because they can't afford health care? or better yet HAVE health care but not cover the diagnoses and treatment (because of someones color and/or past diseases). Every country should take care of their people! No Questions! SiCKo as well compares and contrasts America to other countries. In turn to question: What really is normal healthcare practices in other countries really would be a luxury for us Americans to have Health insurance is like a casino the house HAS TO WIN to make money, and thats by denying hundreds of thousands of people treatment, even if the outcome is death just to profit. Outrageous take on America, and the money hungry companies. Money truly is the root of all evil. American is not run BY and FOR the People its run by the government and companies that their only goal is to make money. Wake up! It's all just wrong!… Expand

I am an American citizen and I have lived in Canada, the UK and the US. There is no doubt that the US health care system is in a state of moral crisis, or that Americans are being lied to about the care that citizens of other countries receive. Late in the film Moore asks the question "who are we." It is a good question to ask after the horrors that this film shows. The footage of a woman dumped by a hospital onto skid row, and seen wandering the street after she was pushed out of a cab, would move anyone. Reviews say this movie is funny and at times it is, but there were a lot of tears being shed by people all around me when I saw it. You really must see this movie.… Expand

After seeing this film and then reading through some of the mean spirited "user reviews" I am disgusted. Do these people have a conscience? My favorite was 'E.B.' with "I will not support someone who does not respect our president". What's to respect? I agree with E.B. on "God bless America" beacuse we need all the blessings we can right now. I pray that this film is seen far and wide and that some of the ignorant can look beyond their myopic views and initiate positive change instead of venting hatred.… Expand

These reviewers make my skin crawl, but I'm just so freakin' thankful I'm not one of them. I listened to reviews of people who have actually seen the film. Ignore the angry folks who only manage to tear themselves away from Fox News long enough to write a review on metacritic, but not quite long enough to open their eyes about...well...apparently anything. However, I AM surprised they can all operate a computer. Good for you! :-) This is my personal favorite: Michael Moore's work is complete trash. I will not support someone who does not respect our country's president. God bless America!… Expand

I find it completely laughable that people find this movie "eye-opening" and that this is a message for the whole world. Give me a break. If you find this "eye-opening" then where the heck have you been for the past 10 years? Do you never read the news? Do you not read any books? I hate it when people count on Moore to "educate" them because they are too lazy to read and study a topic on their own. I am a Democrat and found this movie pretty boring and it wasn't eye-opening at all. I have always felt it important to study a subject from both sides and see what is happening. As for universal health care, I have two friends from Canada who love their country and always joke about how health care is so much better up there because it's "free." However, whenever they talk about it they usually say they would prefer to be seen in an American hospital any day over a Canadian hospital... People need to study topics like this on their own and not be swayed by movies such as this. I too feel that there is a huge problem with the health care system and something should be done. But this movie is not the best source for finding out about this mess.… Expand

Ha, this film shows the pathetic America in its true light. What a filthy, dirty country. They should all be shot. Stupid Americans. You and your fox news crap. Such propaganda. DEATH TO AMERICA AND AMERICANS. All infidels will be slaughtered unless they submit to allah.

Finally a film that serves as a good moral, wake up call to society. Not only is the health care crap in this country but so are the doctors and all the other members of the "health" business that make sure they get rich off our sicknesses.

An excellent movie done with humor and a great dose of irony.

I think this was documentary film at it's finest coupled with just plain good entertainment. I was ready to move to France (or Canada) by the time the film was over!

Why did Morgan Spurlock have to make "Super-Size Me"? The well-received doc about the fast food industry was entertaining, but hardly authoritative. Michael Moore should've been the one to body slam McDonalds and other franchises of its ilk. Just look at him. In "Sicko", during the closing credits, he reminds his viewers to eat their fruits and vegetables. That's very sound advice. I, and probably you, had no idea how good other countries have it, in pertaining to health care. In typical Moore fashion, tells us what the government is doing to its people while we were all asleep. Yes, he's a shameless self-promoter, but I've learned to deal with it(his display of philanthropy towards an enemy should not be in the damn film). And he relies too heavily on music to manipulate our emotions, as if we need to be cued that we should be empathetic towards the forgotten 9/11 rescue workers. But that's okay. "Sicko" is essential viewing.… Expand

I loved this movie and hated its villains even more than I already did. What a racket. These HMO's may rot in hell for all I care. Let them go without like so many among us have. Oh, that's impossible. They now hold OUR money as 'profit' on the backs of the people. Just like this idiotic war the US got suckered into. Don't be a chump, fellow Americans. Listen to the candidates very closely and DEMAND SPECIFICS regarding health reform. Hilary Clinton USED to be clean with health reform. She now counts big Healthcare as of her largest contributors!! Obama as well. The ONLY candidate who is not bought out is Kucinich, and we all know how the press regards him and the people believe that crap. Maybe Mr. Gore will throw in. He should have been in there years ago. What a different world we would be in. It's a f*cking shame! See this movie!… Expand

This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, and one of the most affecting documentaries I've ever seen. It's one of those movies that I think every voter in the country should be strapped into chair and forced to watch -- then maybe we'd actually get some real health care reform. Please know that the comments who rant against Michael Moore are written by people who have a less-than-firm grasp on reality. See the movie and judge for yourself, and if you're really interested in comparing our health care system to others around the world, check out the new book "Sick" by Jonathan Cohn.… Expand

Great look at different cultures solutions to medicine. Fails to note the cost involved in the other cultures (ie. taxes, increased poverty in the population, etc). You don't see any of the countries in the movie as a power to be contended with in international politics. Unfortunately insurance companies have a lot to lose if America goes to a federal plan. Where there is lots of money there will be a knock down drag out fight. Despite it's flaws, it is definitely a movie worth seeing once or more.… Expand

I cried, I laughed, and like some others here- I am almost ready to move to France or Canada. It is one of the few movies I've been to where the audience applauded at the end. "The ugly American" comes to mind. Who is sicker, the HMOs and drug companies, or we citizens who buy into this heartless system? Is there a cure for the endless greed and insidious apathy that infects our collective soul?… Expand

Can you one day just open your eyes ? For foreign occidental people (like me), your health care is a shame, and we knew that before the movie Sicko. You should thank Moore for making us think that all American people are not completely dumb.

Michael Moore is a genius, our health care system is deeply flawed, and anyone who disagrees with these statements is a Communist. Oh, and not one of the nice Cuban ones who gives you free health care, but one of those Soviet Russian ones. You know, the vodka-drinking wife-beaters (likes Stalin, for example).

Now though this has not been released in Britian yet, i managed to gain a copy, and this is Michael Moores best film since Bowling For Columbine...Whereas before Moore has picked holes and widend them with mockery and has become self righteous. This film tries to explore a system with many different sides (but doesn't represent all)..Alot of the time Moore plays dumb so that people can see the significance of what he is trying to get at. In the UK the NHS is free, but Moore didn't go into other issues which is present in england also, like if you are not insured when hit by a car you have to pay for the ambulance now (i didn't know this until a friend told me as he is not a car driver and work sin the medical profession), he also doesn't explain about how much tax(s) we pay in Britain, France (also )...There is also how long ambulances come to help people in the UK is F*cking slow....Plus in the UK we have waiting lists for operations (some people can be on them for months maybe years) So yes the US HMO service is piss poor-greedy but in the UK it will end up the same and only one set of people can be healthy and they are the rich (it is always the same.....), did you notice how many poor people were represented in this (not many...who inturn are the most sick and unhealthy)....It is a disturbing film but be wary of all it shows and represents as not all of it rings true.....… Expand

Awesome documentary! I believe Moore covered his bases and argued his points very well. Critics who bashed this movie seemed to be biased! If there is better way of comparing health care systems between two different countries OTHER than COMPARING them I'd love to hear about it!!!

No citizen in America will be able to carry out a normal day after viewing this movie. The over-whelming feeling of disgust and betrayal I feel towards the government is going to haunt me until something drastic is done about it.

It's amazing that some people have voted without seeing the movie because they don't believe in free speech or the constitution. I've lived in both Canada and the United States, and the health care system is infinitely superior in Canada. The TERRIFYING survival of the fittest attitude by a lot of people comes from such an arrogant place. The perversion of both the Insurance industry and the Government is blatantly evident to anyone with enough courage and education to open their eyes. I hope God does bless America, when America stops acting like a drunken Father that stumbles around the planet abusing any of it's children that gets in it's way...and ignoring the children right here it his feet.… Expand

Surprise #1: Sicko isn't about Michael Moore's ego-on-parade. He gets out of his own way Surprise #2: By far, by far, by far - his best film. In every respect. Surprise #3: We leave the theater talking about the healthcare crisis & medical insurance dramas. Has same conversation-cultural zeitgeist impact as Inconvenient Truth.

Let's be reasonable here people. The people giving zeros are ridiculous, but so are the people giving ten's. The guy who gave it a 3 and then backed up why gave the most intelligent post here yet. I am currently living in Japan, where there is public health care, and as others have noted, yes, it is a lot cheaper and sometimes has great benefits. However, I have heard of at least three instances since I have been here (It got here in May), where people had to wait several days or even weeks for treatment on something that should have been looked at within hours, a day or two at the latest. The quality is also suspect as there are many people who mysteriously pass away in Japanese hospitals in spite of the fact that their condition was stable. I know Moore is making a movie and so there is inevitably going to be a bias, but because it's a documentary it's not fair to only present the good of public health care and not the bad. People who just blindly believe that this is the way it is based on what Moore says, sort of the like the people that believes everything Al Gore said about global warming in his film, really should read credible journals and books on the subject. There are so many different opinions by credible professionals--why should we trust a filmmaker who clearly has an agenda?… Expand

His best and most seditious to date.

Compelling, smart, daring, funny, and entertaining. This film has everything that I expect from good filmaking. It is not often that a film has a serious message, and it is entertaining. This film is very entertaining, and has a sobering view of one aspect of this country's underbelly that is seldom discussed in this level of detail.

This film is not only the first to address the problem of health care in the U.S., but goes further, by proposing what must be considered the only possible solution: universal, single-payer, publicly-funded health care.

Unfortunately people who watch this movie will probably prejudge it based on political affiliation. I can see where Mr. Moore could come off as a preachy gas bag to some but I have yet to find a major inaccuracy in any of his movies. It's really a shame that an issue as important as universal health care should be spun until it's vilified as another communist plot by terror loving liberals. I pray that one day the American people will stop drinking the kool aid.… Expand

i watched this movie and thought it was goofy. Michael Moore only cares about bad things that make the American society look bad. He talks about how so many people have been wronged but never looks at any good things. My grandfather has had 4 heart attacks in the past ten years and hes still alive thanks to today's setup but Moore would never publish that. Another thing is if Cuba is so great why dosen't Michael Moore live there… Expand

Quite an incredible movie. Note: Moore does not claim that countries like Canada, Britain, France, and Cuba are perfect in every way, only that even the worst of these (Cuba's no paradise, for sure) seems to place a value on the average person's health. I highly recommend this film and hope it can spark a movement the way Gore's Inconvenient Truth has done for the environment.

For once, I think Mister Moore has created something that is much more the art than the artist. He is nowhere near as grating or abrasive in Sicko as he was in his other films.

Disturbing, heartfelt, artistic, chocking, sad, funny, I have never seen such an entertaining documentary with so much importance...exceptionally scary.

I'm from Italy and my first thought, after this film, is that i'm VERY happy not to live in Usa... and that i'll do better to never go there on holiday, since i cant afford 600k in case i got hurt. Like all Moore's film, this is not completely neutral... universal healthcare it is surely not heaven. There are waiting lists, cant deny it... altough they are very dependent on the kind of treatment you need. I never heard of someone who had to wait way too much (and for me, more than a couple of months is too much) and about the poor guys with serious illness (generally, the one that need a surgery operation), they got heal almost the same day they got to the hospital. Altough we have our share of problems, i think our system is way better than placing ourselves at the hands of some private company, that like all the company only wants money. Nothing wrong with that.... the point is that when im sick i NEED to get healed, and fuck the shareholders and the free market. Better waiting some days, or even two-three weeks, more but be sure that i'll always get healed, than live with the fear that a single case of illness in my family could financially destroy my live forever.… Expand

Michael Moore is a demagogue. In that grand tradition, the best lie is that lie that convinces the best. Somehow I doubt that he'll flee to that great bastion of healthcare, Cuba, for his inevitable triple-bypass.

I'm giving this a 10 not because it's the best movie out there, but because I have not had such an intense lingering reaction to a film a long time. Despite what you might think about the health care system in America, and despite the fact that the film is obviously skewed to make a point (it is a documentary, people, they're supposed to make an argument), I walked out of the theater incensed and ready for action. And so did most of the other viewers. There was more talk of the movie in the lobby than one usually hears, and I think that's the sign of an effective film--one that leaves you wanting to know more, wanting to talk more, and wanting to do something. Despite your political or corporate views, you should see this film. Everyone in America should see this film. It's a propaganda movie and it does it's job very well. No, our health system is not all bad, but it's definitely got to change, and if everyone watched this film, they might be angry enough to start something. I know I am.… Expand

Why cant we wake up.