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Directed By
Richard Linklater
Written By:
Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser, Eric Schlosser
Cast:
Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzmán, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana Claudia Talancon, Wilmer Valderrama, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Bruce Willis
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Fast Food Nation (2006)
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Movie Review by Matthew 
November 23rd, 2006
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Read the Book
I still remember when I finished reading Eric Schlosser's non-fiction account of the fast food industry and America's eating habits. I haven't been a frequent customer of places like McDonalds, Burger King and the like for years, but after reading the book, I was determined to never stand within ten feet of such establishments ever again. The book is an astonishing, investigative look at many different facets of our culture and eating habits. Everyone should read "Fast Food Nation". You will be shocked. As I was.
I was initially surprised to learn a big screen version of the book was in the works. Naturally, I assumed it would be a documentary and was even more surprised to learn the project was a fictional film directed by Richard Linklater ("Slacker", "Before Sunrise", "Before Sunset") and starring, among others, Greg Kinnear. But I warmed to the idea, anticipating a biting, dark comedy covering some of the same subject material, reaching a larger audience, educating more people about the horror of places like McDonalds and Burger King.
Raul (Wilmer Valderrama, TV's "That 70's Show") and Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno), a young married couple, pay a man to lead them across the border to the US. Upon their arrival, Benny (Luis Guzman), in charge of transporting the new immigrants to various places, drops them off in Colorado and all of the immigrants share a single motel room. Mike (Bobby Cannavale), a supervisor at UMP, arrives and hires Raul and Sylvia to work in the company's large meat packing company. The company provides patties for Mickey's new bestselling hamburger, the Big One, earning the contract because they can provide a lot of meat, very fast, at very cheap prices. Those fast food hamburgers are cheap for a reason. Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear), a new marketing executive at Mickey's, and the creator of the Big One, is sent to Colorado to investigate complaints about UMP and their product. Some college students obtained uncooked patties, tested them and found they contained more than a little fecal matter. Not exactly the type of information they want to come out about their burgers. Amber (Ashley Johnson), a teenage girl working at the Mickey's in Colorado, meets some college students and learns the facts about the environmental harm done by the meat packing plant. Her friend, and co-worker, Brian (Paul Dano, "Little Miss Sunshine"), a slacker, is intrigued by the recent rash of fast food place robberies.
"Fast Food Nation" would probably have made a better statement as a documentary. As a fictionalized film, it needs to have a strong point of view, present clear journeys for each of the many characters, and provide some sort of closure to make an effective statement, to move the masses to act. Unfortunately, the film doesn't accomplish most of these goals. It comes close on some accounts, but a misstep here and there prevent it from attaining any lasting status within the public conscious.
The film is produced by Participant Films, a rare thing in Hollywood. Participant is the company behind "North Country", "Syriana", "An Inconvenient Truth", and others. What do all of these films have in common? They present messages, or depict people struggling against oppressive companies or the like. Participant seems determined to make films challenging our views, to inform us and help us make informed decisions about global events. In other words, Participant is a movie company with a conscience. Unfortunately, "Fast Food Nation" is, of the films I have seen, the weakest film in their library.
As Greg Kinnear's Don learns more and more about the true nature of his company's product, we see his plastered smile falter a bit and he has more difficulty cramming the Big One into his mouth and swallowing. The patties contain what again? He digs for the truth, meets with a shady go-between (Bruce Willis in a long cameo) and visits the meat packing plant. When he is mildly threatened (what will his wife and kids do if he loses his job), he finds it hard to swallow the meat and then backs off, continuing to work for Mickey's and helping to launch their new Barbecue Big One. Because the character is so wishy washy, he becomes more than an adequate symbol for the film as a whole. The message is there, but it seems a bit amateurish, a bit wishy washy.
This amateurish feel rears its ugly head in an even more pronounced fashion during the story involving Amber, the teenager working at Mickey's. At home, her mom, Cindy (Patricia Arquette), proves to think of her daughter as more of a best friend. After her job at a local Pet Superstore, Cindy goes on one date after another, trying to find the next Mr. Right Now. When she returns home, drunk, she wants to confide in Amber, like she would in her high school friends, interrupting her homework. She is amazed to learn Amber is working on a biology paper due next Tuesday.
It won't fit. Please read the full review at thornhillatthemovies.com
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