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| Super Size Me
Directed By: Morgan Spurlock Plot
Summary - Review 1 - Review
2 - CURRENT REVIEWS
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| Why are Americans so fat? Two words: fast food. What would happen if you ate nothing but fast food for an entire month? Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock does just that and embarks on the most perilous journey of his life. The rules? For 30 days he can't eat or drink anything that isn't on McDonald's menu; he must wolf three squares a day; he must consume everything on the menu at least once and supersize his meal if asked. Spurlock treks across the country interviewing a host of experts on fast food and an equal number of regular folk while chowing down at the Golden Arches. Spurlock's grueling drive-through diet spirals him into a physical and emotional metamorphosis that will make you think twice about picking up another Big Mac. [TRAILERS] Deep down we all know that McDonald's is bad for us. The fun of "Super-Size Me" is investigating just how bad. Director Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald's food for an entire month, limiting himself to the lifestyle of the average American. He would only take so many steps, reflecting the sedentary lifestyles of many in this country. He would always "super-size" his meal if asked, reflecting our culture's need for anything bigger and larger. He would stop exercising, reflecting a nation of fat people who continue to get fatter. I must admit - the premise alone struck a chord with me. As someone who sits in movie theaters all day, eats fast food while rushing around to his various commitments, and then sits and writes for hours on end, his little "experiment" paralleled my life pretty closely. But don't assume that I love the stuff. I vividly remember one day when I looked into my cluttered back seat and noticed four McDonald's bags from the week prior. Yes, I had consumed McDonald's four days in one week. I still shudder at that thought. Spurlock’s real success here is converting a unique idea into an entertaining feature-length film. Much like Michael Moore in "Bowling For Columbine," who started with a school shooting as the basis for questioning an entire culture of violence and fear, Spurlock uses McDonald's as a springboard to comment on deteriorating American health, a national apathy in regards to nutrition and the real health dangers that accompany a life built around fast food. Undeniably, it's painful to watch what happens to Spurlock. Very early on, he is unable to keep his McDonald’s burgers down and throws up while in a Mickey D’s parking lot. Later, he starts to feel chest pains, becomes lethargic and even his girlfriend comments on a diminished sex drive. Outside of his day-to-day journal, Spurlock looks into a myriad of subjects pertaining to the abominable state of American health. In the most poignant and powerful segment, he visits elementary and high schools and looks at the food that is served up as a balanced meal every day to our children. And then he finds a school that is focusing on healthy alternatives, and notes the improved behavior of their children. He also looks at the economics of the business, noting how much money is spent by soda and fast food companies on annual advertising, while healthy alternatives lag far behind. We're a culture who is being marketed to death - willing to buy anything and everything that we are told enough to buy. The medical changes to Spurlock cannot be dismissed. He gains something like twenty pounds, his other biometrics plunge, and his doctors urge him to stop long before the scheduled end date. And while the end of his month is less exciting than the beginning, Spurlock the director is wise enough to edit Spurlock the guinea pig. Before we have a chance to grow tired or accustomed to his experiment, the movie has made its final theses and has left us more aware of who we have become. Spurlock does not deserve credit for making a great film so much as credit for unflinchingly turning his camera back on himself and, through him, an entire society. He does not sugar coat the subject matter or gloss over the problem, but is willing to be provocative as he entertains , finding a balance of investigation and commentary that makes the whole thing tick. The saddest moment of the film is an interview Spurlock has with an overweight teenage girl outside of a publicity appearance by Jared of the Subway commercials. Referring to Jared, this girl bemoans her situation, speaks of her admiration for a man who could go through with it and lose the weight, and then seems almost on the verge of tears as she says that she can’t afford to eat subs for every meal in order to slim down. And this heartbreaking moment speaks to more than just the issue of weight loss. Why is she so overweight to begin with? Why does she feel so powerless to change her habits? And, most dramatically, why is her only solution a diet program through another fast food chain? In her case, both the problem AND the solution reside in the world of fast food, and her perspective on the issue has been so limited and constricted that the only answer for her is more of the same. None of this is meant as a personal attack, but rather as a tragic realization of how far our society has fallen and how limited our vision has truly become – when a sad, overweight girl, with a desire to change, has nowhere else to turn than a multi-million dollar company which lies about the health benefits of its product. In the end “Super-Size Me” is not just about fast food and a lazy culture, but the rampant wave of ignorance that has now obscured the realities of food just as it has politics, world affairs and art. Another appropriate title could have been “Closed Mind, Open Mouth.”   Check out Reviews, Commentary, and More at Zertinet.com |
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