L.A. Times' Kenneth Turan reviews "Sicko": Moore's "most important, impressive, provocative film"

[DeepModem Mom]

'Sicko'
Michael Moore takes withering aim at ailing healthcare system.
By Kenneth Turan, Times Staff Writer

No one ever accused Michael Moore of not having a point of view.

A master propagandist and disturber of the peace with an eye for pretense and hypocrisy, Moore can orchestrate outrage pro and con like no one else. It wasn't an accident that his "Fahrenheit 9/ll" was the highest-grossing documentary of all time; it was business as usual.

Moore is back again examining America's healthcare system in the aptly named "Sicko." It's likely his most important, most impressive, most provocative film, and it's different from his others in significant ways.

For one thing, Michael the Confronter, the man who relished face-to-face encounters with the rich and powerful, is no longer in evidence. "I wasn't in the mood to do that, it was not where my head has been at," the director said at his Cannes news conference. "I became tired of yelling and screaming, not getting anywhere."

Rather than irritate people, what Moore wants to do is have an impact on policy and in an area that touches more Americans more directly than any other he's examined. In fact, one of the challenges "Sicko" faces is that concerned citizens may feel they've heard enough on the healthcare debate to last a lifetime.

One of Moore's gifts, however, is the ability to go over familiar territory in his own unmistakable way, to turn dry policy issues into powerful emotional appeals. A tireless researcher (undoubtedly backed by a hard-working staff) and a master deployer of anecdotal evidence, Moore knows if he did it like everyone else, no one would be listening....

http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-sicko29jun29,0,2337263.story?coll=la-home-entertainment

[BlueManDude]

1. Denby in the New Yorker panned it.

I've always gotten the sense that he's a conservative.