Maxed Out

It's a well known fact that Americans are among the most consumer-oriented and debt-ridden people on the planet. It's perhaps less well known that banks and credit card companies actually make their largest profits by extending mass amounts of credit to the very people who can least afford to be in debt. By finally exposing this ironic truth to the light of day, the documentary "Maxed Out" aims to hold the powers-that-be accountable for their actions.

James D. Scurlock, the writer and director of the film, brings us one heartbreaking story after another about ordinary average citizens who have fallen victim to this consumer-credit nightmare. Some are struggling working-class folk who were scammed by debt-consolidation lenders into believing that they would be paying lower interest rates and payments on their loans, only to discover that their new rates and payments were, in reality, astronomically higher. Others are 18 year-old college students, who, it turns out, are prime targets for credit card companies who see these "bad risks" as gold stars in their corporate profit ledgers. Lending institutions also go after people who have previously filed for bankruptcy, knowing that such individuals are not only spending-prone by nature but legally unable to file for bankruptcy a second time. Scurlock also interviews debt-collectors who seem all but indifferent to the plight of those they are going after, as well as more humanistic economists who understand completely the depth of the problem.

Perhaps the most damning criticism is leveled at politicians like George W. Bush and the members of Congress who passed the ironically named Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, making it much harder for the average American to escape his consumer debt burden and much easier for irresponsible creditors to hound their debtors sometimes literally to death, a point Scurlock brings home when he interviews people whose loved ones have committed suicide as a result of their financial and debt-related woes. Yet, ironically, the film also shows the flippant attitude government officials seem to adopt regarding the nation's own debt situation as trillions of dollars of red ink spill unimpeded across the nation's treasury.

In terms of style, "Maxed Out" lacks the pizazz and showmanship of a Michael Moore expose, but Scurlock's single-minded passion still shines through loud and clear. This is a fairly straightforward talking-heads documentary that cuts to the heart of the problem with compassion and precision. The director does provide some much needed levity, though, by showing us snippets of a very funny standup comedy routine on the subject by Louis C. K., as well as excerpts from a typically cheesy 1960 instructional short entitled "The Wise Use of Credit" (the DVD contains the full ten-minute version of the film in the "Extra Features" section).

"Maxed Out" is another in a long line of documentaries seemingly designed to make one feel insignificant and powerless in the face of hugely impersonal corporate forces. Yet, if knowledge itself is power, then movies like "Sicko," "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," "Maxed Out" etc. may, in their own small way, help lead to much-needed reform and change in the way the government and Big Business deal with the least of us in society. Let us hope that is the case.

You cannot pick up the paper these days without seeing another story of how the middle class is disappearing. Soon, we will fit in two categories - "rich" and "barely making it." One of the big problems has been the ease with with credit is given and the hole people fall into when they take advantage of easy credit.

This film shows that the credit companies actually want those who are just getting by to use their cards because they make a killing on late fees and higher interest. They don't want to prevent bankruptcies, because they can get you hooked again as soon as you file. The predatory practices of the mortgage lenders is also displayed.

What was not a surprise was the revelation that a member of the current administration was an executive in a credit card company that was fined huge amounts for stealing from customers, and the fact that the largest campaign contributor in the 2004 election was the banking institution that coincidentally co-authored a bill that made it harder for middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy.

If you use credit, and we all do, then you really need to see this.

I think this movie was wonderful and shows not only as individuals are we not responsible with your credit (in some cases because were are unable to get the basics due to our salaries) but it shows how we as a society feed on the poor in a variety of ways. It shows how our materialism as gone out of control.. HOUSES WITH ELEVATORS? This need

to have "things" no matter what the cost is quite sad. I cried with the moms in the film talking about their kids, and what credit card debit as done to new college students.

It was scary and informative... Now excuse me while I go check my credit rating!

Excellent flick. I often felt that people were at fault for their own credit mess and to some extent, I still do.

This movie opened my eyes to how many of these credit giants prey on the uninformed and manage to make money through bankruptcies.

Someone charges $1000, makes a payment then goes delinquent. The late penalties cause that to become $3000, then after 180 days the bank writes that debt off and sells it at 50% to a debt collector for $1500. The bank still collects their principal, plus whatever payments the original person made, plus $500, plus takes a write off. It seems like a no brainer to hand money out like paper.

When a predator offers candy to a child, do we blame the child for taking the sweet bait? No, because the child didn't know better. So are these people at fault?

I saw this movie at the SXSW film festival and can't recommend it enough. It is AWESOME - right up there with a lot of the great documentaries that have come out the past few years. Basically it's about the predatory practices of the credit card companies, and how the government just seems to look the other way. Doesn't sound all that entertaining, right? I guarantee it will tick you off...and then make you a little nervous (see it and then tell me you won't think twice before applying for another credit card). Some of the things it covers are the ways that credit card companies have refined their practices to prey on college students (without jobs), the mentally disabled, people in bankruptcy, etc. and are never held accountable by the government for their actions (if fact, the CEO of a bank that was fined $400 million dollars for SHREDDING customers checks to charge false late fees was actually made a member of the current administration's cabinet). It also spotlights the fact that the largest campaign contributer in the 2004 election was the banking institution that coincidentally co-authored a bill that made it harder for middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy. I hope this movie is put into wide release. I think it's something everybody in this country should see.