What Spurlock discovers in his scathing investigative inquiry, is a shocking national situation of debt slavery, with all the earmarks of science fiction.
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03/13/07
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Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (2007)
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Reviews Counted:48
Fresh:42
Rotten:6
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Maxed Out's presentation of startling facts and candid interviews put a human face on the issue of debt and financial insecurity.
Theatrical Release:Mar 9, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: Author and filmmaker James D. Scurlock takes on the powerful financial industry in an insightful and infuriating documentary about credit card debt in America. As he crisscrosses the United States,... [More]
Director: James D. Scurlock
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Reviews for Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of...
The film's scattered ruminations on credit card mania add up to a powerful indictment of a culture of mindless consumption spinning out of control.
03/13/07
...it couldn't be clearer that the average American has been seduced by consumer creditors who are more than willing to bleed them dry.
03/11/07
a Dante-esque descent into a distinctly American form of Hell
03/09/07
At times funny, but mostly tragic, Scurlock's film is important viewing for any who owns a credit card without realizing that it's a wallet time bomb.
03/09/07
Though the movie sometimes feels a bit cursory in telling its many stories, many of its points resonate strongly, in that hey-how-come-I-didn't-know-that way that the best muckraking journalism can do.
03/09/07
While the documentary does a credible job of pointing out the magnitude of the problem, it skirts the issue of what can be done about it and by whom.
03/09/07
Top CriticPart American cautionary tale, part credit card industry exposé, James Scurlock's Maxed Out should be required viewing for anyone who has ever opened an envelope that exclaims, "You have been pre-approved!"
03/09/07
All the film provides is this bulletin: Lefties are angry about the things Lefties are angry about, chiefly corporate profits.
03/09/07
Top CriticJames Scurlock's often riveting documentary is likely to leave you outraged over the manipulative greed of America's banks and credit card firms.
03/09/07
[A] well-meaning but scattershot documentary.
03/09/07
Entertaining and smart, Maxed Out is certainly big-screen worthy
03/09/07
Has some sweet touches that make its very bitter medicine a little more palatable: humorously ironic educational film snips and some brutally honest interview subjects. Still, it's hard to watch it and not walk out angry at someone.
03/08/07
James Scurlock's documentary serves up cautionary tales of epic abuse, though the overall tone is faux cheerful and sometimes genuinely entertaining, especially in the use of clips from an old educational film that looks too fatuous to be faux.
03/08/07
Top CriticScurlock's filmmaking style leans more heavily on woebegone personal testimony than facts and figures, but politicians willing to go up against the credit industry's lobbyists would be well advised to take a look.
03/08/07
Scurlock does well to counter the more dire aspects of the film with a razor-sharp sense of humor.
03/08/07
A film all high school seniors should see. And their parents. And their siblings, neighbors, best friends and acquaintances. You should see it, too.
03/08/07
A solid, informative piece, but not a revelatory one. And if you should go see it, it's probably a good idea to pay at the boxoffice with cash rather than via a credit card.
03/08/07
James Scurlock’s Maxed Out takes a long-overdue swipe at the shamelessly predatory tactics of the credit-card and home-mortgage industries, which are feeding on the most economically vulnerable members of our society.
03/07/07
Top CriticA slapdash piece of work totally indebted to second-hand rhetorical strategies (the '50s educational film, glib Bush-bashing) and threadbare indignation.
03/06/07
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