When James Scurlock first arrived as an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, he was filled with optimism. "I was inspired by Donald Trump, which I think a lot kids were back when I went to college," he said.
"Maxed Out" is one of those movies with a lot on its mind and some entertaining means at its disposal to express it. James Scurlock's "J'accuse" against the financial industry's manipulation of Americans towards credit-card debt is delivered very much in the blunt-edged, playful style of guerrilla documentaries.
Consumer debt might seem, at first glance, a fairly unsexy topic for a documentary, but James D. Scurlock's "Maxed Out" presents a far-reaching overview of the topic that will leave audiences intrigued and possibly outraged. Though the movie sometimes feels a bit cursory in telling its many stories (fleshed out in Scurlock's book of the same title, now in bookstores), many of its points resonate strongly, in that hey-how-come-I-didn't-know-that way that the best muckraking journalism can do.
"Maxed Out," a film about the consumer debt crisis, might as well be ripped from the headlines, in light of last week's stock market plunge (blamed in part on too many mortgages sold to high-risk home buyers). But here's the man-bites-dog part: This factoid-filled, talking-heads documentary -- by a business school graduate -- turns out to be amusing. And enlightening. And positively riveting.
Home 
"Maxed Out," a film about the consumer debt crisis, might as well be ripped from the headlines, in light of last week's stock market plunge (blamed in part on too many mortgages sold to high-risk home buyers). But here's the man-bites-dog part: This factoid-filled, talking-heads documentary -- by a business school graduate -- turns out to be amusing. And enlightening. And positively riveting.
