James D. Scurlock appears to be a virtual newcomer but his brilliant take on the debt industry and everything about it will open your eyes and will be an incredible eye opener. As some reviewers point out it may seem that the documentary is one sided but documentaries often are. Regardless of how the film is viewed it can be seen as a terrifying look at the mounting level of debt in our economy and our personal lives. The film even goes so far as to take the concept of debt to a far extreme and show several cases of how debt has literally caused the ruination of some lives and even in some cases, suicide. The film was informative and scary at the same time and was not boring for one minute given the amount of people and stories that the film covers. I can't judge a documentary based on the people in it really because they truly are real people, and the only thing you can really judge a documentary on is it's merit and how interesting it is. Indeed the film is entertaining and will give your system a serious shock when you see how incredible the issue of debt is in our country and on a personal basis. Definitely worth watching, you won't be disappointed for a minute. 9/10

I can think of no better day than today to review this excellent documentary. You see, today is the day after Thanksgiving 2008; what many call "Black Friday." It is the day many of us sink further into debt buying crap our friends and family probably don't need nor want. Couple that with a destabilizing economy and you've got serious issues to think about. The question we need to ask ourselves is "why?" Why do we feel the need to spend more than we make (or may ever make)? The tough answer is here in MAXED OUT, writer/director James D. Scurlock's first feature length documentary.I think many of us know the answer but simply refuse to acknowledge it: we want to keep up with the Jones'. They have a new car, we need a new car. They have a new washer/dryer, we need a new one. It is a cycle being perpetuated by the credit industry and we, the consumers, have been drawn to it like moths to a flamethrower.Maxed Out gives us insights that should make one angry and fearful. Predatory lenders like MBNA, Capitol One, and other credit card companies target those that are least likely to be able to afford credit. Why? Because these are the people who max out their cards then pay the minimum monthly amounts until ...either bankrupt or death do them part. It's a marriage made in Hell and it continues to this day. College students who enter a new campus are likely to find tables set up near their dorms offering sign ups for new credit cards. Why? Again, because they can't afford it (sadly these are the people who end up in the worst situations, often dangling from their necks in dorm room closets).Add to this fact that we are now in the worst financial/debt crisis in U.S. history (end of 2008) and is there any wonder why? George Bush and his buddies at MBNA passed a new law that puts tighter restrictions on filing for bankruptcy, making those who really need assistance the least likely to get it (but it's okay to spend 700 billion taxpayer dollars to bail out banks that caused this debacle). Heinous. And do the credit card companies have to answer to anyone? Morally or ethically? Not that I've seen.This is a documentary well worth your while. And at a quick 89 minutes, it won't eat up a lot of your precious time ...like those credit card bills will.

If you breathe, you are probably aware of the concept of debt in this society. However, for some reason people aren't breathing too heavily about it, despite the fact that it's pretty much tottering on the brink of destruction. Maxed Out is a documentary out to show just how bad it is, from predatory lending habits of big companies to the issue of national debt (How big is the share each household would have to pay to pay off our national debt? $90K as of 2006).This documentary is highly lauded and I've heard more than a handful of people call it one of the scariest horror movies they've seen... me, I didn't care for it much in terms of the art of documentary. Talking heads are hard to truly relate to, especially since you can see the same sort of faces talking about Civil War battlefields as you can the people in this film trying to intimate just how bad it's getting. This is an important topic and I wish the documentary had spent more time truly mapping out the issue from foundation to labyrinth. Instead, it mainly focused on providing quick examples of the several layers of the problem in an almost mish-mash form. I'd prefer a documentary that makes the issue much more clear.It's an important message, I was just very disappointed in that it gave me few real information that I didn't already know, and except for the $90K fact above, fairly rarely put the numbers into true perspective. I would have preferred they made a harder point.--PolarisDiB

This movie was good in the sense that it covers the topic you think it is going to cover, and it does it pretty well. For anybody with any kind of debt, this movie just makes you feel stupid for having such debt. But you already knew that. You already knew you were an idiot for paying interest all your life.I feel like an idiot. This movie is very effective in pouring salt in your wounds. It really doesn't make you feel better about yourself and your situation when you finish watching it.If you have no debt and are everything Dave Ramsey wants you to be, you would probably watch this and be overwhelmingly glad that is not you. You'll be thankful you are financially responsible and you may not even realize how bad some people have dug themselves into debt. I talked to a very wealthy customer of mine a few weeks ago and he was talking about owning stock in Visa. He basically spoke lowly of anybody carrying a balance with Visa. Their loss was his opportunity to make money off the stock. I understand his sentiment, but I get the impression that he thinks that only the lowest of the low income earners carry such debt. He doesn't appear to realize that the middle class, upper middle class, and even people that earn high incomes are often debt carriers themselves. But he is out of touch. This movie should give him a better perspective on the debt problem with citizens of this country and just how bad it really is.So if you are going to watch this and you have your share of debt, this is not a feel good movie. It is good covering the topic at hand but to a lot of us, this is a sore spot.Debt carriers, it is sure to bring you down. Watch with caution.