Review of Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (1997) by Jon N — 30 Jun 2013

Sick is a documentary about Bob Flanagan, a performance artist who spends his life fighting, and eventually dying from, cystic fibrosis. What makes this film newsworthy isn't Flanagan's lifelong struggle with the disease, but the unique way in which he chooses to combat the illness...with masochism. Yes, Bob's into pain. It's his way of letting his body know that it's still alive. And his sadistic partner, Sheree Rose, is only too happy to comply with her boy-toy's requests.

To say that Sick is graphic would be an understatement. Flanagan gets pierced, whipped, cut, and filleted in ways I can't honestly say I need to see again, nor do I completely understand. There are even a few moments that had me turning away from the television, and I'm a tough cookie. At his best, Bob makes Mr. Lifto, the perennial Jim Rose Sideshow attraction, seem like a hypochondriac.

However, through it all, Bob comes off as a likable guy, a guy whose need to be abused is balanced by his humor, his humanity, and his twisted sense of thumbing his nose at nature by fighting fire with fire. I may not ever want to see Sick again, but I also won't soon forget it.