Morgan spurlock unravels the american obesity epidemic by interviewing experts nationwide & subjecting himself to a mcdonalds only diet for 30 days. Its as entertaining as it is horrifying - diving into corporate responsibility & how we as a nation are eating ourselves to death. Studio: Arts Alliance America Release Date: 10/11/2005 Run time: 96 minutes Rating: Pg13
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, rejected five times by the USC film school, won the best director award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival for this alarmingly personal investigation into the health hazards wreaked by our fast food nation. Under extensive medical supervision, Spurlock subjects himself to a steady diet of McDonald's cuisine for 30 days just to see what happens. In less than a week, his ordinarily fit body and equilibrium undergo dark and ugly changes: Spurlock grows fat, his cholesterol rockets north, his organs take a beating, and he becomes subject to headaches, mood swings, symptoms of addiction, and lessened sexual energy. The gimmick is too obvious to sustain a feature documentary; Spurlock actually spends most of the film probing insidious ways that fast food companies worm their way into school lunchrooms and the hearts of young children who spend hours in McDonald's playrooms. French fries never looked more nauseating. --Tom Keogh

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Movie To Watch At The Beginning Of A Healthier Diet But...
Comment: Wow, this movie is a must see for people who don't know that fat is unattractive and bad for their health, McDonald's food is fattening especially if eaten in very large quantities and large corporations like McDonalds don't really care about their customers and are just out to make money! For the rest of us who were fortunate enough to all ready have this knowledge, SUPER SIZE ME really is an unnecessary movie useful perhaps,as a motivator while beginning or in the midst of a healthier eating lifestyle. The movie is very heavy handed in pounding the rather obvious point that a steady diet of McDonlds is not good. And is there a law that documentary filmmakers who are the subjects of their own films have to be insufferably smug and obnoxious? If so Morgan Spurlock fulfills this law to a nicety with some help from his vegan chef girlfriend who in a cringe inducing manner has to tell us more than we could ever want to know about her boyfriend's sex life on the Micky D diet. And though McDonald's may exploit and addict their overweight customers, Spurlock is also quite cruel to the obese with his lingering shots of their midsections and rears. Spurlock briefly discusses the problems with fast food restaurants in general but McDonalds is obviously his main target.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, sometimes manipulative
Comment: Manipulative documentary in the vein of the Michael Moore pieces. Sure it has a noble mission, but beyond offering factoids about nutrition and the guy's 30-day weight gain experiment and the type of crap corporate America offering people to eat (nobody is forcing people to eat fries from the caf every day, but how many people really take bagged lunches to work?) it doesn't offer too much. Naturally, the documentary maker's vegetarian girlfriend is given screen time to preach about how wrong it is to eat junk food.

Taking the moral high ground - check. Throwing up after eating a huge fast food meal - check. Waiting it out until a corporate spokesman says something embarassing, then capitalising on the soundbite - check. Giving the impression of impartiality by showing a guy who eats a Big Mac every day (without fries) but is not overweight or suffering from poor nutrition - check.

Of course he deals briefly with the stupidity of people who are overweight and still eat regularly at these kinds of places, but it would have been more interesting to me if the whole movie had focussed on this. Now THAT would have been a funny "documentary."

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Super Size Me, Indeed.
Comment: My wife and I watched the "Super Size Me" DVD last night. It was the third time we watched it and we enjoyed it very much. Let's face it, Fast Food is a major facet of the American Culture. It's everywhere. Within five miles of our house there are "McDonalds" (2), "Jack in the Box"(3), "Karl's Jr." (2), "Wendy's"(2), "Rubio's," "Burger King," "Arby's," "El Polo Loco," "Taco Bell," "KFC," "Subway"(4) and about a half-dozen local Mexican Taco Shops. No matter what road you take, there's fast food readily available. Yum. Some of it is actually quite good and I confess to eating at some of the places now and then. My personal favorites are "El Polo Loco," "Subway" and a couple of the Mexican Taco Shops. Actually, if you know what you're doing, you can get a reasonably healthful meal. And, of course, it's real fast and oh so convenient. The trick is that you shouldn't do it too often. Did I mention that it's real fast and convenient? Did I mention that some of the items are rather good and tasty? Did I mention that the food is so easily available and inexpensive?

The problem is, as I see it, most people have no idea what they're doing. The nutritional knowledge of the average American is practically nil. They select almost exclusively on taste and they are greatly swayed by the ubiquitous advertising. Furthermore, they're always rushed and need something that can be grabbed and consumed quickly. If you're such a person, and that's most of us, you probably aren't paying real close attention and you're going to end up with food that is very high in fat, sugars and sodium, none of which are particularly good for you, and you'll be very low in vitamins and fiber. The next question might be, How often do you do this? Once a month? Once a week? Every day? Almost all the time? Well, I think you're entering into a situation where you're going to be ill some of the time, much of the time or all of the time. Best of luck.

We try to avoid fast food as much as possible and be highly selective when we indulge. It's a tough task. We almost never go into McDonald's, except for coffee which is actually quite good. Go figure. Well, "Super Size Me" picks on McDonald's and the attack is pretty devastating. It's a lot of fun, also. I love this movie. The jist of it is that Morgan Spurlock decides to eat exclusively at McDonald's for a month. Every day. Every meal. Even water. He is monitored by three doctors and a nutritionist and they record his progressive and dramatic deterioration. By the time he's halfway through his experiment, he's already in serious trouble with warnings from his doctors. At the end of the month, his blood pressure is high, his cholesterol is high and he's gained 24.5 pounds, among other things. It's really eye opening, and Spurlock is a fun character to watch. It's a fun movie to watch, but it's deadly serious. Let's face it, this is a film that should be required viewing for all people who indulge in fast food. We've watched several times, and every time our intake of fast foods is down dramatically over the next six months.

Gary Peterson

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not shocking!
Comment: I thought this documentary was well done, even if the deck was stacked. Yes folks, if you eat fast food for 30 days 3x a day you will become seriously ill. I don't think it is fair to pick on McDonalds, there are many fast food companies and they are all spending lots of dough to get your attention. Growing up, my mother always cooked home made, and I mean nearly from scratch. I attribute that to being healthy, and having an appreciation for home-made spaghetti, beef stroganoff, tacos, fish- twice a week (a few of my favorites) and our dinners always included a veggie (introduce veggies young and kids will eat them, maybe really like them), we almost never had a dessert, and by dessert I mean peaches and cottage cheese... (funny how I've as an adult never cared for dessert!)Why do I mention this? Growing up this way gave me an appreciation for really good food. I was spoiled rotten by my mom, and grandma who are both excellent cooks. We rarely ate fast food, and when we did it was a special treat...not a way of life.

When as parents we "feed" our children responsibly, hopefully they will grow to incorporate those responsible ideals. This idea can be applied anywhere. Some have posted comments that childrens' cereal is purposely shelved at a height where kids can see it...they are little guys ;) Who buys the cereal? Who plans the meals?

One point I would like to make about Super Size Me: After viewing I've not been able to eat a chicken McNugget since. (I do get a craving for a Big Mac though) My son, who watched the documentary with me (he is 9) still finds them tasty. So much for opening his eyes, he doesn't care that it's old chicken. Than again he loves sushi...not regularly served at our house.

People please stop blaming Corporations, schools, Government! It all starts at home...


maybe with home-cooking :)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of my faves
Comment: I bought this DVD because I had heard it was really good, and I was certainly not let down! It really opened my eyes as to just how terrible fast food is and what lack of nutritional education is doing to adults and children. I would recommend this film to anyone!

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