Directed by:
Richard LinklaterScreenplay:
Richard LinklaterCinematography:
Lee DanielCast:
Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Luis Guzmán, Bobby Cannavale, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
The story of fast food is the story of postwar America. Though created by a handful of mavericks, the fast food industry has triggered the homogenization of our society. Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled the juggernaut of American cultural imperialism abroad. Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from the California subdivisions where the business was born to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike where many of fast food's flavors are concocted. Along the way, he unearths a trove of fascinating, unsettling truths--from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has wrought in food production, popular culture, and even real estate. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
Boring, shallow and wannabe-deserving activism without a hint of urgency and any benefit. Avril Lavigne philosophizing about a revolt. I really prefer the pragmatist Willis. At least he has balls. I don't know if the herd of cows happens to be a brilliant metaphor for the people who find this film critical. The film itself just moos dumbly in a row and pretends that it is courage... As a documentary, it might be interesting (it would also lose 90% of the noble bullshit and all the stars), as a feature film it's just a stale construction.
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Well, rather than a film with a coherent plot, this very good film should be seen as a colorful mosaic of stories that are connected by one big, terrible fast food theme. That is exactly how the book is written, so it's no wonder that the film is what it is. Fast Food Nation starts out much like Thank You for Smoking, but over time it stops being a satirical (almost) comedy and becomes a multiple warning - to customers/eaters, for employees and employers... Yet the film (as one might expect) does not abound in shots of slaughtered and butchered animals. We "see" the visit to the meat cutting plant at the end, which is only good. Richard Linklater obviously knew what he was doing, and I think he managed to make this “film burger" almost perfectly. Thumbs up for the soundtrack, which I would like to listen to separately. Fast Food Nation certainly won't please everyone who watches it. Well, maybe not even most people. But that's perfectly fine. As one of the characters in this film says, "We all have to eat a little shit from time to time" (Bruce Willis says this in one of the best scenes, by the way).___P.S. I've never gone to McDonald’s for a burger, and that's not going to change.
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"They'll slit your throat for a nickel. Nothin' personal. They just want the extra nickel." A poignant critique of mammoth corporations and all-capable companies, striving only for profit maximization and loss minimization. It is particularly sad when confronted with Mexican immigrants who seek work and a better life in the USA but are only granted the honor of being plucked within the wheel of corporate capitalism.
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