Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead follows an audacious experiment by Joe Cross, a burly Australian who once weighed 309 pounds, had high blood pressure, lacked energy, and suffered from urticaria, or chronic hives. When his misery turned to desperation, Cross decided to go on a juice fast, spending 60 days in the U.S. (which has about the same rate of obesity as Australia—i.e., high) subsisting only on daily glasses of juiced vegetables and fruits. After spending a month in New York, Cross tours the country with a juicer in the back of his hatchback, interviewing people on the street about their eating habits and attitudes about food. One man Cross meets at a truck stop also has urticaria and later contacts Cross, who flies from Australia to Iowa to give the trucker tips on how to proceed. Like Cross, the trucker embarks on a long juice fast and makes lifestyle changes, after which his weight drops 202 pounds (from 429 to 227), his urticaria goes into remission, and he's able to go off all his medication. Cross had similar results: 89 pounds lost, no hives, and excellent blood pressure and cholesterol readings. The before and after comparisons are astounding: at the beginning of the documentary Cross sports a drooping belly; at the end, his far fitter self is jogging on the beach. A gentle, good-humored look at how one person inspired others to think about and change their life habits, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (F. Gardner)