Sicko vs Best In Show

Sicko is one of the more powerful, and sadder, movies I have seen in quite some time. It’s one of those movies that makes you a little embarrassed to actually be at the movies, when you could be out in the world, making changes for the better, helping your neighbor. But save that for after the movie. There’s a lot of information on screen in Sicko, a lot to be sad about, a lot to be mad about. You’re registered to vote, right?

Some of you will not see Sicko on principle, because you have such a strong dislike for Michael Moore. I understand completely. I feel the same way about David Spade. But when David Spade directs a movie that has the potential to move me as much as Sicko does, then I’ll be first in line, I promise.

Sicko is a documentary exploring the problems of Americans with no health insurance, as well as insured Americans who have found themselves up against crooked HMOs, greedy pharmaceutical companies, and medical experts hired by insurance companies to turn sick people away. If you buy Twizzlers for the show, you probably won’t finish them.

What Moore finds in his travels is that other countries— Canada , Cuba , England and France —provide free health care for their citizens, and suffer none of the problems citizens of the United States might associate with such a program. He interviews not only foreign citizens, but also Americans who live overseas, and in one instance, an American who pretends to be Canadian to get affordable health care.

Of course, because this is Michael Moore, there is also controversy. A segment of Sicko takes place in Abu Ghraib, the terrorist prison, which, yes, offers free health care to its inmates. There’s also a trip to Cuba , which is bound to rub some viewers the wrong way. I was riveted during this segment, because it focused on 9/11 volunteers, and was simultaneously funny, infuriating and heartbreaking.

There’s not much else to say. No one wants to be sick, but it happens, and not everyone can pay for it. Hey, if we’re prioritizing benefits based on wealth, I’m fine with, say, iPhones for the rich. But how about asthma medicine for…everyone with asthma? Would that be so bad? If you agree, Sicko might be the movie for you. If you disagree, then Sicko is definitely the movie for you.

I’m not kidding. Sicko is a downer. I wouldn’t put another sad documentary on you for anything. Let’s make a 180, shall we? Let’s counter the most depressing movie ever with the happiest: Best in Show. Christopher Guest and company, plus dogs. Can’t beat that.

You’ve seen it already, right? Please tell me you have. It is absolutely vital that you see Best in Show, more even, than Sicko. Don’t even register to vote until you’ve seen it. If you have medicine to pick up, watch Best in Show first.

Best in Show was the second official mockumentary from Christopher Guest and his brilliant team of funny actors. This one is set in a dog show, where the dogs are trained to have the utmost in grooming, manners and sport, and the owners—like parents of young pageant competitors--are all overcompensating for something missing in their own lives. My favorite of these is the yuppie couple played by Michael Hitchcock and Parker Posey. The latter’s trip to a gift shop to replace her dog’s bee toy features a meltdown of such specific anger and neurosis, I’d stack it against anything similar in a dramatic movie. The characters in Best in Show aren’t as sympathetic as those in the other Guest movies, but they’ve all got dogs they love, so I cut them some slack. They’re also undeniably funny. I suppose there’s an argument to be made for England or Canada , but when it comes to funny, we’ve got those French and Cubans beat.

Sicko: A
Best in Show: A