When I first heard about Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary "Super Size Me", I was pretty jaded, because common sense would dictate that if one eats fast food, they are going to have weight and health issues. Indeed, this is what happened to Spurlock, however the magnitude of the health deterioration was astounding.
Presented in a sometimes humorous format, "Super Size Me" is an experiment conducted by Spurlock in which he would only eat McDonald's food, three times a day, with the caveats that he would have to eat everything off the menu at least once, and that he would limit his exercise to the amount of exercise the "average" American gets per day. Therefore, if he is nearing his walking limit for the day (measured by a pedometer he wears) he would have to grab a cab or find another way to get from A to B without walking. Predictably, he gains a lot of weight, (though the rapidness of the weight gain is alarming at first, 10 pounds in one week) but it is his actual health tests that are the most frightening. By the end of the second week, his doctors, who originally approved his experiment (with some reservation, naturally) were practically begging him to stop. Other than the experiment itself, "Super Size Me" is peppered with facts about the fast food industry and various interviews with industry insiders.
I definitely found the film enjoyable, and somewhat informative (though having read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, a lot of the information was old news) but there was something missing that is hard to grasp; perhaps the film needed a little more substance and cold hard facts instead of watching him constantly eat. However, it is my understanding that the supplemental materials on the DVD are extremely informative and even include an interview with Schlosser, so perhaps more insight could be found there. Spurlock is a great presenter, however, because he is just a regular guy who has a great amount of charm and good camera presence. He was entertaining and likable enough to really illicit concern when his health was so obviously starting to become effected. Ironically, his girlfriend (and now wife) is a vegan chef, so it was mildly humorous to watch her preparing a detox menu for him using the most apropos vegetables to clean out his system.
The aim for most documentaries is to present a thesis and then not only prove it, but provide supporting evidence. Though the thesis of "Super Size Me" was kind of a foregone conclusion, Spurlock manages to provide us with supporting evidence that doesn't make the entire film one big "Well, duh!" which is what I kind of expected, going into the film. If you have seen or plan to see this movie and are interested in the subject matter, I would highly recommend reading Schlosser's Fast Food Nation to gain even more insight on the business of fast food. It's a very interesting read and would make a good companion piece to this documentary. 6/10 --Shelly
Presented in a sometimes humorous format, "Super Size Me" is an experiment conducted by Spurlock in which he would only eat McDonald's food, three times a day, with the caveats that he would have to eat everything off the menu at least once, and that he would limit his exercise to the amount of exercise the "average" American gets per day. Therefore, if he is nearing his walking limit for the day (measured by a pedometer he wears) he would have to grab a cab or find another way to get from A to B without walking. Predictably, he gains a lot of weight, (though the rapidness of the weight gain is alarming at first, 10 pounds in one week) but it is his actual health tests that are the most frightening. By the end of the second week, his doctors, who originally approved his experiment (with some reservation, naturally) were practically begging him to stop. Other than the experiment itself, "Super Size Me" is peppered with facts about the fast food industry and various interviews with industry insiders.
I definitely found the film enjoyable, and somewhat informative (though having read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, a lot of the information was old news) but there was something missing that is hard to grasp; perhaps the film needed a little more substance and cold hard facts instead of watching him constantly eat. However, it is my understanding that the supplemental materials on the DVD are extremely informative and even include an interview with Schlosser, so perhaps more insight could be found there. Spurlock is a great presenter, however, because he is just a regular guy who has a great amount of charm and good camera presence. He was entertaining and likable enough to really illicit concern when his health was so obviously starting to become effected. Ironically, his girlfriend (and now wife) is a vegan chef, so it was mildly humorous to watch her preparing a detox menu for him using the most apropos vegetables to clean out his system.
The aim for most documentaries is to present a thesis and then not only prove it, but provide supporting evidence. Though the thesis of "Super Size Me" was kind of a foregone conclusion, Spurlock manages to provide us with supporting evidence that doesn't make the entire film one big "Well, duh!" which is what I kind of expected, going into the film. If you have seen or plan to see this movie and are interested in the subject matter, I would highly recommend reading Schlosser's Fast Food Nation to gain even more insight on the business of fast food. It's a very interesting read and would make a good companion piece to this documentary. 6/10 --Shelly