Austin Sicko Premiere Draws Sellout Crowd

Written by: Fran Vincent on Jul 2, 2007 12:17 PM EDT

The Austin premiere of “Sicko” was terrific on a number of levels – super turnout, unity of committed progressive organizations, and last but not least, a great film.

The movie opened here on Friday and by that morning, it was sold out.  We had encouraged Democracy for Texas supporters to get tickets in advance and apparently they took us at our word!  In addition to DFT, folks from Health Care for All Texans, National Nurses, and the Gray Panthers were out in force, passing out literature and getting petitions signed.  It’s not hard to find liberals in Austin, but seeing so many groups working together with a common goal was really inspiring.

As for the film, it’s Michael Moore at his best.  Mixing tragedy and humor is an art, and Moore is a master.  The movie has less of him on camera and more of people just telling their stories.  But for those who prefer the “old” Michael Moore, there is a classic moment at Guantanamo.

But it is ordinary Americans telling their stories about how the health care system has failed them that is the centerpiece of this movie.  For me, the most shocking part was learning that insurance companies reward employees for denying coverage.  I’m pretty much of a cynic, but it never occurred to me that human beings could be that callous toward people in life-or-death situations.

Do yourself a favor and see the movie if you haven’t already.  Parts of it are hard to watch, but I guarantee you’ll come away wanting to do something to fix our broken system.  And I bet you’ll listen more closely to the presidential candidates as they talk about their health care proposals.

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