It ain't easy being fat, right and wrong all at the same time: "Sicko"

Ah, yes ... Michael Moore. I'm sure there are people who p!ss me off more than him, but it's a short list. It's not his politics or his intent, mind you. It's his execution and stupid stunts. Handle those better, Mikey, and I'd kiss your feet.

"Roger and Me" remains a fantastic, poignant documentary, and -- honestly -- the high point of Moore's work. Why, you ask, when subsequent movies have garnered so much more attention? Because the big guy began to believe his own press and do a bunch of distracting stuff instead of sticking to the meat of his very important issues.

"Bowling for Columbine" was solid up until he started goofing around with Charlton Heston; I just about retched when he stood there holding the photo of the dead kid. "Fahrenheit 9/11" was a bit better, but hey, W. is an easy target, and I still wish he would have been more biting and less grandstanding.

Which brings us to "Sicko." I absolutely cannot quibble with this subject and the need for a real documentary on the gross unfairness of the U.S. healthcare system. No, there's no reason the world's most prosperous nation should be No. 37 in quality of health care. No, there's no reason good people should go bankrupt paying for medical treatment. Moore spends the first hour talking about such travesties, and I was right there with him -- angry and eager for solutions.

Only .... there weren't any. Just as I feared during the set-up, Moore goes to great lengths to talk about what's broken and what's better by comparison but offers no depth, context or -- most important -- commentary from people on how this system can be fixed. You know, bitching and moaning is all well and good, but did anyone think U.S. health care was awesome before this?

No. We all know it sucks, and while we appreciate the human examples and statistics to that end, how about presenting ways to right this wrong instead of rubbing our faces in it? The second half of "Sicko" gives us more Moore on camera, which is a bad sign. He shows how other -- much smaller, mind you -- countries do health care better, but without any discussion of the tradeoffs. (Read: taxes.) Then he amps up the indignation by boating some sick people to Cuba -- first Guantanamo Bay, then Castroland -- and getting them the health care they've long sought.

But wait, there's Moore! In the ultimate "I'm being generous but really self serving and even kind of sh!tty," he talks about cutting an anonymous -- well, not anymore -- check to one of his harshest critics so that guy can pay some medical bills while keeping his anti-Moore site up. C'mon ... why mention it if it was anonymous? And if it wasn't going to stay anonymous, why not tell the guy before including it in the movie. Sorry, no. This was about you, not him.

So yeah ... "Sicko," like most Moore movies, p!ssed me off, and not in the way he intended. Yes, he makes a valid point. Yes, he's rightly tackling a big problem. Yes, I even agree with his politics. But dammit ... I also believe in the full story, and not even trying to look at the big picture simply hurts your argument that America should do better. We know the system is broken. But we have no idea from "Sicko" how to fix it.