Rating: 
Summary: The best film of 1998 and the 2nd best film of the 90s.
Review: A note to the squeemish: Don't Worry!! You will be able to handle this film. As a matter of fact you will thank yourself on several occasions for seeing this film. This is perhaps the most hopeful film I have seen in years. It's also a wonderful and surprising affirmatiion of the human spirit like no other. Pretty surprising for a film with the word "Supermasochist" in its title. But fear not, this is not a film about masochism, it's a film about a masochist secondly and a wonderful and inspiring human being primarily. See this movie, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Irony of Expression
Review: First of all, this is a beautiful film in the way that Zwigoff's biopic Crumb is beautiful and sublime. Artists who live outloud like Bob Flanagan and Robert Crumb, who trample over boundaries, convention, and mores in their pursuit of personal and creative expression are to be understood and admired. This film is beautiful in how it behaves as art.Yes, it's about a guy who hurts himself and lets others hurt him. Yes, it's got some harsh images and scenes in it and there are parts that will make you cringe, but to describe it as "beautiful" is not a run at irony. Calling it beautiful is the sum total of every aspect of "Sick" -- it's impact, his life, his images, and his intentions. With this film, Bob Flanagan achieved the holy grail of modern art: transforming a taboo act/attitude into a sublime and transcendant expression. Wow. An amazing feat, in life or death. I hope this movie gets the attention it deserves, moreover, the attention that Bob Flanagan deserved. What a brave artist. I sure wish I'd paid more attention to him when I first heard of him and he was still present in the here and now.
Rating:
Summary: Irony of Expression
Review: First of all, this is a beautiful film in the way that Zwigoff's biopic Crumb is beautiful and sublime. Artists who live outloud like Bob Flanagan and Robert Crumb, who trample over boundaries, convention, and mores in their pursuit of personal and creative expression are to be understood and admired. This film is beautiful in how it behaves as art. Yes, it's about a guy who hurts himself and lets others hurt him. Yes, it's got some harsh images and scenes in it and there are parts that will make you cringe, but to describe it as "beautiful" is not a run at irony. Calling it beautiful is the sum total of every aspect of "Sick" -- it's impact, his life, his images, and his intentions. With this film, Bob Flanagan achieved the holy grail of modern art: transforming a taboo act/attitude into a sublime and transcendant expression. Wow. An amazing feat, in life or death. I hope this movie gets the attention it deserves, moreover, the attention that Bob Flanagan deserved. What a brave artist. I sure wish I'd paid more attention to him when I first heard of him and he was still present in the here and now.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't want to like it but...
Review: I couldn't help feeling for Bob, watching him die made me cry.
The movie has some VERY graphic scenes, but his humor and stories make it worth it.
Rating:
Summary: it was a good date movie
Review: I saw Sick during its theatrical release with the man who is now my permanent boyfriend , we shared an immediate appreciation for the bizzare nature of the movie and I realized that even beautifull unattainable cover boys have a weird side to them, weve been together for 4 years I highly reccomend Sick
Rating:
Summary: A compassionate look at an unusual man
Review: I'll have to admit I had to look down at the floor during the "Hammer of Love" scene (some people went into the lobby). Yes, some parts are hard to watch, so be warned. But it _is_ about a masochist, in this particular case one who suffered from cystic fibrosis and decided to make a performance art out of his pain. Although he was a exhibitionist, the movie isn't exploitative; it's a compassionate, non-judgemental look at a man who did the best he could with an incurable disease.
Rating:
Summary: Brave And Severely Disturbing
Review: It takes a certain kind of brave and twisted person to turn his life and body into an S & M performance piece. Bob Flanagan is both sick and brilliant. Flanagan survived cystic fibrosis until the age of forty-two - a very long time. He attributes this to constantly inflicting pain on himself relentlessly over the years. His dominatrix partner Sheree, helps him with is goals. The various scenes are sometimes spliced with dark humor and other times simply shown in their bleak gruesomeness. There is nothing that Bob and Sheree have not done to him to inflict pain in the most disgusting ways possible. It's an entirely different world and it takes a strong stomach to watch. Bob specializes in abusing his penis in ways unimaginable, including a scene with a hammer, a nail and a board - there is blood. The most amazing part of this documentary is when Bob and Sheree take this `performance art' to various museums in New York and Los Angeles. Bob allows himself to be raised by his feet, pierced, shackled and naked, high above the museum goers heads. It is disturbing. If you have an interest in the S & M/bondage world, you might find this interesting, but the scenes are so graphic and sometimes overwhelming in their intensity, it can be hard to stomach. This is a perplexing film.
Rating:
Summary: Brave And Severely Disturbing
Review: It takes a certain kind of brave and twisted person to turn his life and body into an S & M performance piece. Bob Flanagan is both sick and brilliant. Flanagan survived cystic fibrosis until the age of forty-two - a very long time. He attributes this to constantly inflicting pain on himself relentlessly over the years. His dominatrix partner Sheree, helps him with is goals. The various scenes are sometimes spliced with dark humor and other times simply shown in their bleak gruesomeness. There is nothing that Bob and Sheree have not done to him to inflict pain in the most disgusting ways possible. It's an entirely different world and it takes a strong stomach to watch. Bob specializes in abusing his penis in ways unimaginable, including a scene with a hammer, a nail and a board - there is blood. The most amazing part of this documentary is when Bob and Sheree take this 'performance art' to various museums in New York and Los Angeles. Bob allows himself to be raised by his feet, pierced, shackled and naked, high above the museum goers heads. It is disturbing. If you have an interest in the S & M/bondage world, you might find this interesting, but the scenes are so graphic and sometimes overwhelming in their intensity, it can be hard to stomach. This is a perplexing film.
Rating:
Summary: A heart-rending film, despite some intense content
Review: It's the story of Bob Flanagan, a 40 year old survivor of cystic fibrosis--a chronic lung disease with which few survive beyond their 20s. From an early age, he became masochistic to deal with the daily pain of CF. The film gives a bio with family interviews and chronicles the last few years of his life as a writer and artist. Witnessing the horrible progression of his disease, his loving and supportive family, long-time companion Sherree Rose, and his sometimes sick sense of humor far overshadows the S/M content. Watch this film, even if you have to close your eyes for a few scenes. I had read the RE/Search book, Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, and found this film to be even more moving. I was surprised how emotional I got.
Rating: 
Summary: FUNNY, SHOCKING, PROFANE, PROFOUND, BEAUTIFUL
Review: SICK (Lions Gate) is a caustic, brilliant, funny, compassionate look at the life and death of comedian Bob Flanagan, who embraced S/M to manage the pain of cystic fibrosis. You will be shocked and amazed and moved to tears of laughter and sadness all at once. This edgy, arty, documentary record of a performance artist with something deeply meaningful to say about the ironic paradoxes of pain and pleasure, and the unexpected gift of life and certain death is not for everyone. So open your mind, see it, and be a better human.
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