davebest2001 Review of Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)

A celebration of life and the steps needed to live life to the full

[7/10 · 24 February 2012]

What started out as an easy going documentary about a juice diet, ends up being something altogether more profound and life affirming. We meet Joe Cross, a very likable Aussie who travels to the States, the home of junk food, to start a juice only diet, with a juicer hooked up to his car battery and a vast array of fruit and veg. He decides to hang around outside some of the fast food places he used to frequent. He also interviews people he meets about their diets or lack of them and their anticipated life expectancies. Most of the results are shocking. Most of the overweight people don't think they have the willpower to change, and in some cases are accepting that they will die in their 50s. Joe sticks with his diet for 60 days, and he manages to lose a lot of weight. The film becomes more profound when he meets Phil Staples, a truck driver with even bigger weight issues than Joe. He reaches out and asks Joe for help. The results are staggering. Joe's weight loss is excellent, but Phil's eventual weight loss is even more spectacular. Phil becomes an advocate for the juice diet and turns his life around 360. Overall this film is life affirming and touching. It espouses the benefits of a simpler diet, and is a celebration of life rather than a sermon. It's worth watching. Not sure I would be brave enough to try that diet though. Maybe when I hit 400 pounds !