Fast Food Nation

FAST FOOD NATION Written by Eric Schlosser & Richard Linklater Directed by Richard Linklater

I've tried on a number of occasions to eliminate McDonald's from my diet. The first time I tried was a few years back, after reading Eric Schlosser's non-fiction work, FAST FOOD NATION. I remember going to buy fries for the last time before reading the chapter entitled, "Why the Fries Taste so Good." I had to go for that last fry before I could never look at them the same way again. I went for months without a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder with cheese but it didn't last. Eventually I succumbed to my cravings that persisted despite the time that had elapsed. I knew what I was doing was wrong but as I bit into my two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun, I conveniently forgot about all the chemicals in the meat, the subliminal advertising geared towards toddlers and the migrant, illegal workers in dangerous meat rendering factories that made my burger possible. No sooner had I had my last bite did my stomach twist into a tangled mess. The pain was both horrible and familiar. Unfortunately, Richard Linklater's narrative interpretation of Schlosser's novel is nowhere near as nauseating or as a big a turn-off as the feeling of a Big Mac sitting at the bottom of your stomach.

The decision to translate FAST FOOD NATION from a non-fiction work of in-depth investigative journalism into a narrative film is a bold one. I was apprehensive at first but Schlosser's involvement co-writing the screenplay with Linklater made me less so. Shaping facts into a story certainly humanizes the global implications of the fast food industry but if the narrative is not compelling then there isn't much of a point. FAST FOOD NATION tells different stories to show the wide reach of how many are affected by the fast food industry. Greg Kinnear plays Don Anderson, an advertising executive responsible for The Big One, the latest burger success at Mickey's, the fictional fast food chain at the center of the film. Don must investigate reports that there are significant traces of cow manure in the meat (Fun!). Ashley Johnson plays Amber, a teenage Mickey's employee who juggles school and work while she begins to see her role in the corporate machine that is waiting in her future. Wilmer Valderrama and Catalina Sandino Moreno play Raul and Sylvia, two Mexican illegal immigrants who have been brought into the United States specifically to work at the rendering plant that manufactures the millions of patties that become The Big One. Very little is revealed about the characters themselves as they are merely symbols for the bigger picture. Consequently, there is very little identification with the film. A film that is trying to tell everyone, "America … this is what you've become," needs the audience to feel like this is their America.

What FAST FOOD NATION best exemplifies is America's complacency with the progression of its society. The problems don't stop at Mickey's. The fast food industry is merely just one faceless industry that is driving the American people into hopeless futures. Kinnear's Don is a prime example. He has spent his life packaging products, feeding them to people the way they like it. All the while, he has also been feeding his convenient lies to himself as well. A successful burger comes at a cost and as he travels from his board room to the assembly line and begins speaking with people who don't have any stake in the production of The Big One, he understands that there are truths under his lies that he cannot go on ignoring. By the time we see him bite into his third burger, his apprehension to do so is rampant. Yet, he still takes that bite. This is what we do. We get fed a ton of information from different angles. The product pushers tell us how wonderful it is and the non-believers prove otherwise. Schlosser's book, which clearly details all the subtle atrocities the fast food industry unleashes into the fabric of America to make one more dollar at the expense of its loyal customers, is well researched and fact-checked. The flip side to the convenience of fast food, from obesity to the exploitation of underage employees, is being discussed by too many people and with increasing validity to be ignored. Yet millions still take that bite.

Linklater does not shy away from expressing his disappointment in the American people nor does he mince words about his lack of optimism relating to making change on the subject. Each character's story is brought to a close and none of them are any better for any of their efforts. Some end up exactly where they wanted not to. Some end up continuing to support the industry despite their newfound knowledge. All these choices are made to ensure money is still coming in, to ensure the American dream is still within reach. Even the youth of tomorrow fail at their attempts to affect the future. The attempt itself does show a trace of Linklater's hope, albeit it fleeting. Despite all this, Linkalter still wants to do his part. The last ten minutes of FAST FOOD NATION bring about some of the more gruesome footage found in the film. We finally get a tour of the "kill floor" at the rendering plant, with plenty of blood and dead cow to go around. The nausea comes too late in FAST FOOD NATION but you certainly won't be rushing for another burger any time soon.

I don't know how this film can be called a comedy. Nauseating yes. Tragic certainly. Funny not a bit.

This movie is a fast food chain's worst nightmare. The trans fats, chemicals and artificial flavors these corporations pump into their so-called "food" has been slowly killing a generation of children for long enough, and finally someone's come out with a film revealing the inner workings of this dishonest and dangerous industry. The imagery is compelling, with a convincing and talented cast. This is the payback fast food corporations have needed for a long time coming. Hopefully many will see this movie and walk away better educated in order to live a longer, happier, and most importantly, healthier life. Watch out for fast food industry propagandists posing as film critics in order to discredit this film, their future and income very well depends on the ignorance of the general population. (Cigarette corporations anyone?)

Apparently, ever since Stephen Gaghan bored everyone senseless with his intertwining storytelling techniques for Syriana (2005), Richard Linklater's latest project, a political satire-drama about the fast food industry and its various potholes, adopts the same strategy to the same sort of effect in Fast Food Nation. Among the protagonists includes Greg Kinnear as Don Henderson, the newly acquired vice-president of fast food mogul "Mickey's". His job requires him to market a new type of burger – "The Big One" to the public. Elsewhere we get to meet a family of Mexicans, among them Wilmer Valderrama and Catalina Sandino Moreno, who venture into America illegally via the nasty, corrupt factory worker Mike (Cannavale), in order to fill his disgusting work stations. Mickey's employee Amber (Johnson) who grows tiresome of flipping burgers and pervy bosses – eventually decides to gather a revolt against the beef-slaughtering industry.

On paper – this could be the most cinematically violent satire one could hope for on the big screen. The fast food nation, for better or worse, is such an easy subject to tackle as the behemoth of an industry's only true worth is to fatten the western world into a huge wave of immovable mammoths. The operation of it is even worse, as KFC's documented treatment of its fowl is appalling, as is McDonald's lack of nutritional awareness. So much bag to swing at, surely an accomplished director such as Richard Linklater couldn't possibly avoid hitting something? Suffice to say Fast Food Nation is absolutely punch-less. It relays common truths to support its depiction, which completely washed over me. There is artificial flavourings in these foods? Apparently immigrants are put to work illegally and unsafe in factories, you say? No kidding. Tell me something new. Shock me. The devouring and slaughter of a cow isn't a plea to boycott fast food – it is vegetarian propaganda. Yes it is nasty viewing, but no more so than the limb-removal in Saw (2004) or the teeth extraction in Park Chan Wook's Oldboy (2003). I knew animals die in the process of food making – it is common knowledge. Vegetarian propaganda belongs in a film like Madagascar (2005) or Finding Nemo (2003) where children ponder the humane nature of eating meat, whilst realising that nature itself is fairly ruthless when it comes to hunger. The fact that the biggest indignation proposed unto the industry by this film is of the amount of animal feces going "undetected" in their products is certainly disconcerting, but underlines the weakness to truly devour this subject. It is edited, directed and written in such a pedestrian manner, that not only is there a lack of insight, there is none of the brio or genuine intrigue that Morgan Spurlock's superbly insightful, and utterly entertaining documentary Super Size Me (2004) garnered. Spurlock uncovered a plethora of grotesque truths about fast food that not only made you think about that kind of diet, but also offered a compelling cinematic experience.

It is after witnessing a film as disappointing as Fast Food Nation, that one appreciates a work like Thank You For Smoking (2006) all the more. Linklater has made a movie not just lacking punch, but spark too. Jason Reitman's film about tobacco lobbyists was a movie with similarly hackneyed message: think for yourself. It preached to its own choir much in the same vein is Linklater is doing here; only with verve, and a sense of humour, that more than made it worth the emission. Fast Food Nation is desperately lacking a humorous edge. There is none of that biting satire from Wag The Dog (1997), none of the cutthroat cynicism of Wall Street (1987) or the fluidity in Linklater's previous release this year A Scanner Darkly (2006). It even lacks the intelligence of Syriana (2005), which was not a particularly accomplished film. Instead what we have is an admittedly well-intentioned film, which lacks the wit, insight and storytelling to make this a worthwhile experience.

I had the chance to see this film at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Of all the films I saw, this one was the most disappointing, and the most shockingly mediocre. The film jumps around between a few different, barely interconnected stories, yet none of these segments are explored enough to draw the audience in. For example, towards the end of the film, I began to realize that Greg Kinnear had completely disappeared from the movie without a trace. He is not again seen until the ending credits. The film seems to pride itself on continually throwing in more and more familiar faces, yet these actors prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Avril Lavigne, Bruce Willis, and others all pop up for a brief scene or two, yet for the most part, they fail to leave any lasting impression. At the films end, I left the theater feeling no more enlightened, no more informed, and no more interested in the topics discussed throughout the movie. Richard Linklater is a great director, and he has cast some great actors, but still, Fast Food Nation fails to compel or leave any sort of impact. My guess is that a year from now, most people will have forgotten about this movie entirely.