Review – Sick

What else would you call a documentary about Bob Flanagan, cystic fibrosis victim and masochist performance artist? This documentary is a real mixed bag. Some of the scenes, particularly footage of Flanagan’s performances, is fascinating stuff. However, a lot of the more personal material is hard to watch. For example, the director decides to include an extended sequence of shots of Bob in various places and times coughing and struggling for breath against the symptoms of CF. By this point in the movie the audience is familiar with the effects of his disease, so the sequence comes across as annoying and pointless. I’m also inclined to agree with Bob’s friend Sarah who says in one of the “special features” documentaries that watching him die in the end is a great deal harder than watching him nail the end of his dick to a board. And speaking of the special features, almost all of them are copiously infected with the director’s endless prattling, a damn shame given that he had a subject who was much more compelling than the movie made about him. That notwithstanding, those with at least moderately strong stomachs should enjoy most of this production. Mildly amusing