Review: Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan

Kirby Dick’s film is an unquestionably straightforward and unflinching depiction of Bob Flanagan’s painful and prolonged death.

Sick
Photo: Lions Gate Films

The title alone of Kirby Dick’s alleged documentary Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist practically screams: “This is not your standard biopic!” And the first scene, in which Flanagan reads his own obituary, is all the confirmation we need. Dick’s film is an unquestionably straightforward and unflinching depiction of Bob Flanagan’s painful and prolonged death from Cystic Fibrosis and the director manages to bend some of the affectations of “documentary etiquette” most other filmmakers place on themselves, without ever traversing into essay film territory. Flanagan is portrayed in the film as a mordantly hilarious man who has turned his entire life into a realization of his fictional fantasies. He has made his own body the canvas for his gruesome art displays. Simple enough, but Dick is savvy enough to realize that a scrawny little dude committing various atrocities to his body isn’t profound in and of itself and is liable to send audiences running for cover. (Though thanks to a notorious scene involving a hammer, a nail, and Bob’s knobby cock, many exited before the final reel anyway.) Instead, what makes Sick more than just a provocation is how Dick conveys how often people attempt to understand those around them in terms of themselves. Though no one, not even Bob, can offer a conclusive explanation for the appeal of sadomasochism, everyone has their own theory (that more often than not speaks to his or her own various life outlooks). Bob suggests that engaging in S&M actually makes him a stronger person, and more resistant to the debilitating effects of his disease (a theory made more plausible when one takes into account that Bob lived a couple decades longer than most CF patients do). His mother, who has already buried two children to CF, seems fairly certain that Bob uses his whips n’ chains to punish the body that has betrayed him. Between the two extremes is Bob’s life/artistic partner Sheree, who knows that it’s mostly a kinky turn on; but, of course, she could just be saying that because he’s her butt-plug bitch.

Score: 
 Cast: Bob Flanagan, Kirby Dick, Kathe Burkhart, Sheree Rose, Rita Valencia, Sarah Doucette  Director: Kirby Dick  Distributor: Lions Gate Films  Running Time: 90 min  Rating: NR  Year: 1997  Buy: Video

Eric Henderson

Eric Henderson is the web content manager for WCCO-TV. His writing has also appeared in City Pages.

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