Maxed Out (2006)
81%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Maxed Out is a scathing indictment of the predatory lending practices that have led to America’s personal-debt crisis. The film exposes the cozy relationship between the Bush administration and the financial services industry, and lays bare the obscene profits that are made at the expense of the most vulnerable members of society. While some critics have criticized the film for not delving deeper into the reasons why people feel the need to buy, Maxed Out is an effective and eye-opening documentary that shines a much-needed light on a pervasive and potentially disastrous problem.
If you’re looking for a documentary that will make you feel better about your financial situation, Maxed Out is not it. But if you want to learn about the shady practices of credit card companies and the government’s cozy relationship with them, then this is the film for you. It’s a bit of a downer, but stick around for the end credits where you’ll find some of the best material. And who knows, maybe it will inspire you to start a revolution against predatory lenders. Or at least pay off your credit card debt.
Production Company(ies)
Universum Film
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Unrated
Year of Release
2006
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 2007 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 5, 2007
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
James D. Scurlock – Writer
James D. Scurlock – Producer
Jon Aaron Aeseng – Cinematographer
Alexis Spraic – Film Editing
Director(s)
James D. Scurlock
Writer(s)
James D. Scurlock
Producer(s)
James D. Scurlock
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (6)
This muckraking documentary on America’s personal-debt crisis lays bare the predatory practices of credit card companies and the Bush administration’s cozy relationship with the financial services industry.
December 4, 2007
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Do not see this film if you worry about money.
October 6, 2007 | Rating: 4/6
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Maxed Out focuses on how much we’re in hock without ever really wondering why we need to buy.
October 6, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/4
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
This scattershot exposé of usurious banking practices examines why the most vulnerable segment of society is victimized by the lending industry and finds a simple answer: It’s obscenely profitable.
October 6, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Stephen Holden
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Maxed Out exposes the credit card sham for what it is, and fingers the hustlers who perpetuate it.
April 20, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
To maximize your return on this useful report, sit through the end credits where Spurlock deposits some of his best material.
March 23, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
Maxed Out demonstrates that when shady business dealings create a problem, our success-driven culture will provide a bevy of questionable solutions.
May 21, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Uma análise detalhada e preocupante sobre a política empregada pelas operadoras de cartões de crédito no intuito de manterem os clientes numa situação de endividamento constante – ou melh… pior: crescente.
January 6, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Pablo Villaça
Cinema em Cena
When it comes to credit, it pays to be informed.
November 4, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/5
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
One of the most effective of the many recent agitprop documentaries.
September 27, 2007 | Rating: 8/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
The propagandistic Maxed Out is ultimately undermined by the fact that, as vile as many of its corporate interviewees seem, its everyman subjects are often just as culpable in creating and perpetuating the whole mess.
June 25, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Stax
IGN Movies
shines a light on one of the most pervasive (and potentially disastrous) problems affecting our society today
June 17, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/5
David Thomas
Filmcritic.com…
Plot
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America’s Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality-America is not only far from the world’s wealthiest nation; it is crumbling beneath a staggering burden of individual and government debt. Maxed Out takes us on a journey deep inside the American debt-style, where everything seems okay as long as the minimum monthly payment arrives on time. Sure, most of us may have that sinking feeling that something isn’t quite right, but we’re told not to worry. After all, there’s always more credit! Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of “preferred customer” and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels says that Maxed Out features candid interviews with individuals who have been victimized by predatory lending practices, including a woman who was declared dead by credit bureaus.
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