Economics 101: There is no such thing as a free lunch. Even if the food is free or extremely cheap, there is always a price to pay-and according to the movie "Fast Food Nation," the price is not worth it.
"Fast Food Nation" tells a fictionalized story based on many nonfiction essays and in depth analysis from author Eric Schlosser's book. The director, Richard Linklater (known for his ensemble pieces like "Dazed and Confuzed" and the innovative "Waking Life") fills "Fast Food Nation" with celebrity cameos including: Greg Kinnear, Bruce Willis and Kris Kristofferson.
"Fast Food Nation" tells the story of the inner-workings of Mickey's, a fast food corporation that is reminiscent of McDonald's. The movie takes starts from 'The Big Kahuna's,' which care only about marketing the next big food product rather than concentrating on the food product itself. Kinnear plays one of the head honchos and goes through the process of how all of the meat is chemically induced to give it its flavor, then takes field trips to teenage-run Mickey's franchises, and the slaughter farms where the beef patties are formed.
I've read the book the movie is based on and the movie is missing a primary ingredient, a dominant voice. The movie uses its large cast to tell different anecdotes that only offer a small taste of the real issues at hand and never go full thrust into them. At certain points, I had trouble staying focused on who was telling the story and who the movie was about. If the filmmakers used a main narrator like Anthony Bourdain, an assertive food talker who is famous for his rants and raves about all aspects of the food industry, the movie might have had a better taste.
Another let down from "Fast Food Nation" is that besides a brief and lighthearted lecture from Bruce Willis, it doesn't tell anything positive about the fast food industry. In the book, after condemning McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, Wendy's, and many more, it said that In-N-Out Burger was great. What makes it great? Why does Schlosser consider it to be an exception? Are there any more fast food places like In-N-Out?
I wanted the movie to tell me if there were any exceptions, because after I saw it, I wandered into the mall's food court and wondered if any of the food was worth the three bucks that I had in my wallet.
I give "Fast Food Nation" 3 out of 5 Roses.
Reach the reporter at: monis.rose@asu.edu.
