Super Size Me
How often do you hear that? Once a week? Once a month? Once a year? How about every day for a month? Let’s face it, America is in love with fast food. The faster the better. You can’t drive a city block without passing at least one fast food chain. They are a part of our lives, and for one month, were the lifeblood (and almost deathbed) of spunky documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.
Spurlock was incensed over McDonald’s casual dismissal of a lawsuit by two overweight teenagers, who claimed a steady diet of their burgers, fries and apple pies led to their obesity. Duh! That’s why I kicked that Sees Candy and Caramel Popcorn diet. Like Kenny Rogers said, “you’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.”
Too much of anything can be bad for you (even sex), and to prove his point, Spurlock dives head first into a month-long diet of breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, hamburgers, fries, shakes, pies and everything else on the McDonald’s menu. Starting off at a reasonable 185 pounds, Spurlock undergoes a battery of medical tests to gauge his on-going health. What happens to Spurlock over the course of one month is not only shocking, but in many ways quite amusing.
I know people who literally live at fast food restaurants, but they don’t limit themselves to the same thing from the same chain as Spurlock does. It’s not long before the filmmaker’s body starts turning on him. His weight shoots up almost 30 pounds, his blood pressure and cholesterol become Ripley’s Believe It Or Not candidates, and his liver starts looking for a new host.
Spurlock’s descent into deep-fried hell not only affects his health and well-being, but the well- being of those around him. As Spurlock’s body undergo radical changes, so does his mood and stamina. At one point his vegetarian girlfriend and team of doctors urge him to stop, afraid that he will cause permanent damage to his system and sex drive.
“Super Size Me” fulfills the basic requirements of a documentary, while utilizing camera tricks and what looks like recreations to make its point. Spurlock hits the streets for a series of eye- opening and occasionally humorous interviews, plus injects visual elements to drive that point home. What starts off as an experiment in activism becomes a fascinating document on how we have become dependent on corporate America to provide a quick fix for our problems. After spending all day waiting on other people or struggling through long lines, don’t we really deserve a break today?
Fast Food, Early Death
SUPER SIZE ME
A documentary by Morgan Spurlock. Not Rated. 98 Minutes.
LARSEN RATING: $7.00
