Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

Few people, even among the hip arthouse crowd, were willing to rush out and see a documentary about a cheerful masochist, especially once word got around that director Kirby Dick--and how apropos is that moniker?!--doesn't flinch from depicting Flanagan's acts of self-mutilation in graphic, stomach-churning detail. Yes, this is that notorious movie in which the eponymous subject cheerfully places the business end of a nail on his penis and proceeds to play a rather singleminded game of Whack-a-Mole. Even now, some of you are probably thinking "Yikes, I'll pass," but those who do will deprive themselves of one of recent cinema's most bizarrely moving experiences. In fact, Sick, for all its perversity, is in many respects exactly the kind of movie that Americans, in particular, adore: it is, among other things, a love story, a comedy, a tale of courage, a true-life example of triumph (however temporary) over adversity, and even a disease-of-the-week flick. Though its hero dies at the end, as the title implies, the overall tone is uplifting, even optimistic. If you think you can stomach it, and you can stand the possible heat from outraged patrons, this comes highly (if cautiously) recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Kirby Dick and editor Dody Dorn, an eight-minute director interview featurette “Dick on Sick,” the 15-minute “Sarah's Sick Too” update featurette on a girl who met with Flanagan in 1995 through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, four live performances with intros by Dick (14 min.), the 19-track soundtrack (with music and spoken word), a “play Doctor with Bob” DVD-ROM game, 27 minutes of eight deleted scenes--including the original opening sequence--with intros by Dick, and a brief DVD credit sequence over home movies. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a powerful and unnerving film.] (M. D'Angelo)