Suck It Up, Buttercup: Trust and Betrayal - Healthcare in America
Suck it Up, Buttercup explores the crisis of trust in American medicine, exposing greed, profits over people, patient suffering, clinician burnout, and systemic failures.
About the Film
Physicians, nurses, and patients across America are losing faith in the healthcare system meant to protect them, and many are saying so for the first time. Suck It Up, Buttercup: Trust and Betrayal – Healthcare in America explores burnout, moral injury, unsafe staffing, and lost professional autonomy in a system driven by corporate profit.
The title captures the culture they describe. Clinicians learn that exhaustion and moral distress are part of the job, while patients are rushed, denied coverage, and handed bills they cannot pay. Everyone hears the same message: suck it up.
Mark Cuban, Dr. Will and Kristin Flanary (the Glaucomfleckens), Dr. Todd Otten, Dr. Ron Turker, Dr. Don Berwick, Dr. Linda Peeno, and Dr. Wendy Dean are among those who share their stories. The film connects their experiences to the forces behind them and asks what happens when the people entrusted with our health lose faith in the institutions they serve.
It then highlights people and systems proving better care is possible, and invites viewers to reclaim their agency through dialogue, organizing, and a growing impact network. The future of medicine has yet to be written, and all of us have a role in writing it.
To learn more or help keep the film going, visit siubfilm.com.
The title captures the culture they describe. Clinicians learn that exhaustion and moral distress are part of the job, while patients are rushed, denied coverage, and handed bills they cannot pay. Everyone hears the same message: suck it up.
Mark Cuban, Dr. Will and Kristin Flanary (the Glaucomfleckens), Dr. Todd Otten, Dr. Ron Turker, Dr. Don Berwick, Dr. Linda Peeno, and Dr. Wendy Dean are among those who share their stories. The film connects their experiences to the forces behind them and asks what happens when the people entrusted with our health lose faith in the institutions they serve.
It then highlights people and systems proving better care is possible, and invites viewers to reclaim their agency through dialogue, organizing, and a growing impact network. The future of medicine has yet to be written, and all of us have a role in writing it.
To learn more or help keep the film going, visit siubfilm.com.
Title
Suck It Up, Buttercup: Trust and Betrayal - Healthcare in America
Release
2026
Runtime
87 minutes (1 hour 27 minutes)
Rating
Not Rated
Genre
Documentary
Directors
Origin
United States
Language
English
United States
English
Creative Team
Creative Team
Cinematographer
John Hunter Mottern
Producer
Todd Otten
Editor
Amy Schrob
Producer
Scott Pressler
Subject Matter Expert
MaryAnn Wilbur
Bring this film to a theatre near you
Independent films don’t have the support of big production companies to get their films in all of the movie theaters. But, using Theatrical On Demand®, you can bring their film to a theater near you. All you have to do is find a theater, request the film, and if enough people commit to buying tickets, the movie will be screened at your theater.Learn more about Theatrical on Demand®
1. Find a Theater Near You
Take advantage of Gathr's vast theatrical network and choose your preferred theatre.
2. Request the Film
Create and send your inquiry in minutes.
3. Tell Your Friends
Leverage your community to generate reservations and cover (and exceed) your minimum threshold.
1. Find a Theater Near You
Take advantage of Gathr's vast theatrical network and choose your preferred theatre.
2. Request the Film
Create and send your inquiry in minutes.
3. Tell Your Friends
Leverage your community to generate reservations and cover (and exceed) your minimum threshold.
I'd like to Host my Screening at my local cinema, but I'm not seeing it on the Screening request form. Can I still screen there?
We are generally able to screen at most Venues, and add Venues to our network. Please email [email protected] with the info on the cinema, and we will reach out to them.
I'm not going to reach the minimum tickets by the expiration date. Can I move the expiration date out?
We generally are not able to move the expiration date because we need to give the theater time to book the screening, assign an auditorium, receive the content, etc. That being said, we can certainly move out the Event date which will automatically move the expiration date as well.
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Yes, please email [email protected] and we can assist you with moving your screening to a new location.
My Event is almost sold out, can we book a second auditorium for the same date, Venue, and time?
Theaters generally do not like booking 2 screens for Gathr events on the same evening. If your Event is close to selling out, please email [email protected], and we will reach out to the theater in order to move to a larger auditorium to accommodate all of your guests.
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