The film features Robert Bixby, director of the Concord Coalition, and David Walker, the former U.S. Comptroller General, as they travel around the United States on a tour to let communities know of the potential dangers of the national debt.

[1] It began its nationwide showing at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha, Nebraska on 21 August 2008, with a live discussion among Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson, David Walker, William Niskanen, and Bill Novelli following the screening.

[6] Archival footage included in the documentary features Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, Stephen Colbert, Sue Herrera, Steve Kroft, Chris Parnell, Peter G. Peterson, Donald Rumsfeld, Tim Russert, Brian Williams, as well as footage of ten former U.S. presidents: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W.

[7] In February 2008, Walker announced that he would be resigning from his post as Comptroller General to become the president and CEO of the newly-established The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a position from which he could more freely draw attention to the serious issues the U.S. is facing.

Rotten Tomatoes reported a score of 88% among critics, with a consensus of "A potent and lithely constructed documentary about America's financial crisis, I.O.U.S.A grabs you with figures but holds you with irreverent wit.

[10] In a January 2008 review after the film's Sundance premiere, Justin Chang wrote:[11] With the same eye for snazzy visual aids and casual human eccentricity that informed his delightful crossword-puzzle docu Wordplay, helmer Patrick Creadon tackles a markedly grimmer story in I.O.U.S.A., an alternately amusing and alarming primer on America's off-the-charts fiscal irresponsibility.

Meant to raise awareness of the skyrocketing national debt and the disaster it spells for future generations, this highly informative docu reps a heady mix of charts, graphs and talking heads, but its superb packaging and timely subject matter should give it a shot at theatrical exposure before it cashes in on homevid and broadcast slots.In an August 2008 review focused mostly on the film's subject matter, Roger Ebert began with the following:[12] A letter to our grandchildren, Raven, Emil and Taylor: I see you growing up into such beautiful people, and I wish all good things to you as you make the leap into adulthood.