Review of Fast Food Nation
By Monica Pless
Warning: don’t go into this movie expecting what you read in the book. Like biting into an oatmeal raisin cookie when you believed it was a chocolate chip, you will likely be disappointed. However, this movie does come away with some worthwhile lessons.
The new movie “Fast Food Nation”, based on the book by Eric Schlosser, was released in theatres nationally this November. It bears resemblance to ” Thank You for Smoking” in its celebrity-laced docudrama style. It follows a marketing exec of the fast food chain “Mickey’s” to a Colorado town to explore the issues surrounding the food and culture the chain both builds and depends on. The exec (Greg Kinnear) is coming off of successful marketing campaign for “The Big One,” and for his next assignment, is sent to find out why there are such high levels of E. coli in the meat. Through interviews with old time ranchers and the brokers for meat packing plants (with a cameo appearance by Bruce Willis), Greg Kinnear determines that in fact, there is “sh*t in the meat.” That said, the shock-value of the climax of the movie, showing the kill floor of a meat packing plant, drilled in the message not to eat meat.
The movie focuses the most time on a group of illegal immigrants (including Wilder Valderrama) as they cross over from Mexico and find jobs in the same small Colorado town that Kinnear visits. Scenes illuminate how they find work in the slaughterhouse and meat packing plant, the sexual harassment and physical danger of the work, and even how sexual favors are traded for better jobs. This is the most enlightening section of the movie, as the immigration debate has not traditionally been as tied to the anti-fast food movement.
The one story offering a piece of hope follows Amber, a high school Mickey’s employee who meets up with a group of college activists working to shift Mickey’s policies about how they raise the cows. But even this hope is short-lived as the activists find their actions to be ineffective. Ethan Hawke’s appearance as Amber’s older brother both encourages her to keep fighting and creates a mouthpiece to lament how fast food chains have made every town in the US look the same.
While I was disappointed that Fast Food Nation didn’t address the health effects on the consumer as much as the book, the movie succeeds in linking many of the issues in the fast food industry together. The movie made me even more cognizant of the impact of my food choices on the environment, animal welfare, low-wage workers and the immigration debate. The movie offers no heroes and few solutions or action steps, but the shock value is worthwhile. No one who watches this movie will be able to thoughtlessly chow down on another fast food meal.
The movie could be clearer, the characters could be more developed, but ultimately, it’s telling a message that we all need to hear. My verdict: 3 out of 5 stars. Watch it on DVD.