Totally "Sicko" at little Bellaire (Mich.) Theater on Saturday

Flint found only fleetingly in Moore's 'Sicko'

THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Sunday, June 17, 2007
By Ed Bradley
ebradley@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6258

BELLAIRE - As they waited in line for the first public screening of Michael Moore's "Sicko" in North America, Flint-area natives Josh and Cynthia Ivey Abitz knew their trip to this picturesque northern Michigan village was worth it.

"We had to come. Forty bucks is a steal," said Cynthia Ivey Abitz, a former Swartz Creek resident now of Mackinac Island, referring to the single-ticket cost for the screening.

"I love what Michael is doing through film as a medium to change awareness of social issues," she said. "And I love that he's brought this film to northern Michigan first."

"I remember him maxing out his credit cards for 'Roger & Me,' and now look," said her husband, formerly of Davison, where Moore was raised.

The neophyte "Roger & Me" director of two decades ago - now an Oscar-winning filmmaker - used the town nearest his Torch Lake home to unveil to the public "Sicko," his documentary about the American health-care system. The film's world premiere was last month at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Saturday's four sold-out screenings were benefits for the Antrim County Democratic Party, of which Moore's wife, Flint native Kathleen Glynn, is vice chairwoman.

Moore told The Flint Journal he and Glynn wanted to do the opening here "for our community, our neighbors, now that we've been here four-five years." He said the county Democratic Party has grown from 30 members to about 250 since the 2000 presidential election.

The screenings for more than 800 viewers took place in the tiny Bellaire Theatre, along the main street of a town usually frequented by out-of-town golfers and boaters. They preceded Monday's New York debut and Wednesday's first showing in Washington, D.C.

In "Sicko," Moore makes his point - a sharp criticism of American health care that states insurers too often put profits over patient care - through profiles of Americans whose lives have been shattered, and in some cases ended, by flaws in the system. The film shows Moore traveling to Canada, England, France and Cuba to examine the benefits of free, universal, taxpayer-funded health care. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-44/1182054426312840.xml&coll=5