Maxed Out (2006)

Better Late Then Never

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Blistering performances.

I have been helping people for 23 years recover from bad credit and over-whelming debt. The warning signs have been there for the collapse of our house of cards for a long time.The credit card industry has been able to successfully lobby Congress many times as "advocates" for the consumer, but they more of the wolf in sheep clothing. Credit card debt has risen steadily while collecting on bad debt has declined sharply. Why? The economic downturn, mortgage mess and job losses forced many people to use their credit cards to pay the mortgage, to buy groceries and other essentials that once were paid for with cash, ATM or checks. The same economic downturn forced debt collectors to turn to new ways of getting money from people with bad debt and no available credit.Debt collectors say their industry is struggling just like the rest of the economy. In an odd twist, the debt collection business is booming when you look at the number of new debt collection referrals that have arisen because more consumers can't pay their credit card and other bills. But, because more consumers can't pay their bills, debt collectors are often left empty-handed on the collection of bad debt.People aren't working, they're not paying off their debts, which will likely lead to more changes their collection strategies because of the economy and the rise in amount of charged off bad debt. Hold on tight, it will be interesting to see where this leads.Very good film.

The credit card companies have been maxing out people for decades. In this documentary, it looks at it's predatory lending policies especially towards college students on campus. The credit cards were always meant as a safety net or if you didn't have money. Some people used their credit cards as life support in emergency situations. Our financial situation in this country has further deteriorated since this documentary. You don't have to watch Michael Moore's film to see the situation's effect. Armed bank robbers are less deadly than the bank robbers in suits and ties who walk in on Wall Street. They may not have guns but they have the access and ability to destroy our economic situation far more than armed bank robbers like Bonnie and Clyde etc. Bank robberies don't happen like that anymore. It's done on the internet or in the policy meetings. The people you meet in this documentary are real and authentic. Debt has driven people to commit suicide because of the harassing phone calls and letters threatening to take away. That's the bottom dollar. Are the creditors far more interested in driving people to commit suicide or lose their sanity than get the money? It's a shame that it's going on and that people will be in debt until their dead. It's a perverted kind of freedom to be in debt like having a noose around your neck and the debt gets bigger than smaller with rising interest rates, penalties, and no breaks. Whatever happened to compassion and mercy in this society?

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.

Maxed Out is a film that takes you in and insists you pay attention to every word. The movie is very good at conveying the gravity of the situations at hand, whether it be the national debt or the individuals in crisis. The movie follows the most basic rule of a narrative, to show and not to tell. The movie turns the camera to those who have been affected, and lets them vent. The professor from Harvard, Elizabeth Warren, is very effective, her quiet voice makes you feel as though you are listening to a secret and you lean in to hear.The one fault I found with the film is that at certain points the interviewer would make a suggestion to the interviewees and the interviewee would reiterate the suggestion. I didn't take off any points because I think the suggestions made were simply to better fit the narrative and didn't fundamentally alter any of the interviews. Also I felt the documentarians did the honest thing and included the suggestions unedited.Maxed Out shows the dark-side of a "boring" topic in a very interesting way, no one will leave this film unaffected. 10/10