 "Entertaining but pointless..." | 2010-02-16 |
| - Reviewed By H. Jin from Melbourne, Australia |
'Super Size Me' follows film-maker Morgan Spurlock as he eats nothing but McDonald's junk food for an entire month, and measures the effect this has on his health. The documentary is very entertaining and quite funny in many parts, and Spurlock is an engaging host. But ultimately, it's also kind of pointless. The problem is that Spurlock seems to want to make a serious Michael Moore style "expose" of the fast food industry.....but he doesn't really have anything to shoot at. The supposedly "shocking" conclusions he reaches are:
1) Eating nothing but junk food for an entire month makes you fat and unhealthy (Duh..).
2) Corporations like McDonald's want to make money (Double Duh...).
Are these supposed to be stunning revelations?
A discussion about the obesity epidemic, and the trend of increasing fast food consumption, is certainly worthy and timely. But blaming fast food companies and their marketing tactics for "making" people fat (like the two girls who tried to sue McDonald's) is predictable and a bit of a cop out. No matter how aggressively McDonald's might market its products, nobody's forcing you to eat it. And I seriously doubt that even McDonald's itself would recommend you eat nothing but their food for an entire month.
It would have been better to spend more time exploring WHY we are so fixated on unhealthy junk, and what changes we can make to our lifestyle to encourage healthier eating. Inviting us to accept responsibility for our own eating habits and giving us examples of how to change them would have been very constructive. After all, what we put in our mouths is entirely our own choice.
As for McDonald's getting rich from selling you unhealthy food.....well, if you shell out $20 a day for junk food when you could prepare a proper meal yourself for half the price, whose fault is that? McDonald's provide a service, and it's entirely up to you whether you want to pay for it or not. If you're stupid enough to waste your money, there'll always be someone to gladly take it from you.
So as I say, it certainly is entertaining, and is enjoyable if you're in the right mood. But as the hard-hitting documentary it tries to be, it basically fails, because it doesn't really tell us anything we shouldn't already know. |
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 "We know this and yet..." | 2010-01-30 |
| - Reviewed By I love romantic movies from NYC, NY |
It's funny to me how many of us say, "of course you're not supposed to eat fast food every day for every meal," but, then, guess what. Even though this information in this documentary may be obvious for some, for me it was worth the "journey" down this avenue just to see the extent of the "damage."
Yes, I know I'm not supposed to eat fast food foods every day, and I know I am supposed to make better food choices even with my ridiculous work load, but still even I struggle at times. Even with illuminating information like that presented in this documentary, I still manage to toss up my hands and utter, "oh, well, I'm too tired today, tonight, tomorrow, etc., to cook." Thanks, Spurlock, for this journey. |
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| "A MUST see for everyone...fat and skinny!" | 2009-11-21 |
| - Reviewed By Blondie78624 from Texas |
This video is a real eye-opener for me, about obesity and Americans. I am not considered 'obese' in the medical field....but, I have now lost 30 lbs and this movie kept me motivated (or disgusted) enough to make sure I make this life-change forever. I recommend this movie to everyone!!! I showed my son, 13, my boyfriend and his son, 9, to make a serious impression on their futures. I know you can watch this movie for free over the internet, but, I bought it so that I can offer it to anyone, friends, co-workers, family...etc...so they would not have an excuse to NOT watch it! Way to go Morgan. You did not jeopardize your health in vain. I am very grateful to you, for changing many, many lives.
Sincerely,
Lighter in Texas.
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 "30 days of deterioration" | 2009-11-19 |
| - Reviewed By Elisabeth |
This documentary follows the same format as the t.v. show 30 days. Morgan Spurlock first discusses the obesity epidemic and then mentions how two girls were suing McDonald's, claiming their food caused them serious health problems.
The judge told these girls they'd have a case if they could prove their health problems were strictly a result of eating McDonald's food.
Intrigued by this case, Spurlock conducts a 30 day experiment, using his own body as a test subject, to find out exactly what kind of effect a strict fast food diet can have on the body.
For 30 days, he will strictly eat only McDonald's food and cannot eat anything that is not available from their menu. When placing an order, if the cashier asks him if he'd like to "supersize" his meal, he must say he will.
He will also live his life like a typical American and restrict his exercise.
Day 1 begins with him getting tested for overall health and fitness. On day 30, he'll get checked again to see how much the diet affected these results.
In the meantime, we as the viewer watch as he first is disgusted by his new dietary choices -- just to warn you, there's a vomit scene -- and then becomes an addict.
It's pretty fascinating to watch the transformation...well, except for his vegan girlfriend who is pained watching someone she loves destroy his body.
At the end, the effect on his health and fitness level shouldn't be too surprising, but it's still a good wake-up call.
Sometimes I think getting a visual of the harmful effects can be more effective than simply listening to warnings.
Besides checking his status for 30 days, other questions are posed like...is the obesity epidemic a personal problem, a corporate problem, or both?
Should junk food be allowed in schools? Would only serving health food in schools make much of a difference?
Also shown is how much advertising is a presence in our lives. For example, Spurlock has a group of children individually identify faces on flash cards. Some knew who George Washington was, no one knew who Jesus was, but all of them knew who Ronald McDonald was.
He also tested a group of women to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to see how much of the words they knew. All of them flubbed their lines. But when asked to recite the McDonald's theme song, all of them got it 100% correct.
The DVD extras were also interesting. I especially enjoyed the interview with the author of Fast Food Nation as well as Spurlock's experiment to see how McDonald's food degrades over time.
Overall, I found this documentary entertaining both for the material covered and because I think Spurlock is an entertaining host.
The reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I thought it could've been better organized and focused. |
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| "A Mouthfull of information" | 2009-09-04 |
| - Reviewed By World Citizen from Currently Philadelphia |
| If anyone can eat at McDonald's or any fast food place after this, I would be surprised! I used to stop in such places when I was in a real hurry and needed something quick (between flights in airports). This film has humor, facts and makes you think about what you eat. I highly recommend it to anyone who eats food! |
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| "Where's the Beef?" | 2009-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By Jason Kirkfield from Rocky Mountain High |
I was late in discovering this movie, although certainly I was familiar with the title. In all honesty it doesn't surprise me that eating Mickey D's for 90 meals in a row would be unhealthy. But I enjoy independent film and it took some chutzpah for Morgan to do what he did, not only in terms of taking on Goliath but also of challenging his own health. It took him much longer to lose the weight than it did to put it on, but soon after the movie premiered, McDonalds got rid of the SuperSize menu, even though they won't admit there was any connection!
The commentary (with Morgan and his girlfriend, the vegan chef) is hilarious and the bonus interview with Eric Schlosser is excellent. |
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