Super Size Me Movie Review:


Morgan Spurlock’s engaging documentary Super Size Me goes after one fast food establishment as a major factor in why so Americans are so overweight. Though McDonald’s is the focal point, this documentary is more than just a gimmick or one health guru’s pursuit of a fast food corporation. Super Size Me looks into the reasoning behind the unhealthy habits of Americans and does not back down, especially from holding ground that personal responsibility is the crucial point, but many more factors come into play as well.

Two years ago, Spurlock, who is a New York filmmaker took upon the task of “Super Sizing” himself to prove a valid point about irresponsible eating habits of Americans. Spurlock goes on all McDonald’s diet for 30 days, in which he not only puts his body, but his life on the line abiding by three simple rules.

1) For a month he can only eat what was available at McDonald’s (including water).
2) He must super size his meal only if he is asked to “Super Size.”
3) He must eat three meals a day, and eat every item on the menu at least once.

Before starting his journey, Spurlock is seen by his three doctors, which include a gastrologist, a cardiologist, and a general practitioner. All confirm that he is healthy and in great shape, weighing in at 185 pounds with only 11% body fat. During the third week of his “McDiet” Spurlock has gained over 20 pounds and has all of his doctors, his dietician and his vegan chef girlfriend pleading with him to stop the diet. His liver becomes a pickled organ of fat, in which over the phone his mother tells him that he can have her liver if need be. One doctor tells Spurlock that he has seen this happen so quickly with one’s body during consumption of alcohol, but not of unhealthy food. Other effects that Spurlock experiences during the diet include depression, addiction to the taste of McDonald’s, and sexually underperforming for his girlfriend.

As startling as Spurlock’s journey is, Super Size Me is also hysterical, scary, and much more than this one man’s deceit over McDonald’s. Throughout the documentary Spurlock visits over twenty cities and interviews individuals from both sides that have a say in the matter of health in America. He also focuses in on the shocking way that lunches are being prepared for elementary students as well as performing visual experiments where Ronald McDonald is more identifiable than figures of history and the Bible. Lawyers, PR representatives, gastric bypass surgeons, and teachers are among the others that each has a voice in this film.

Spurlock does not ever get to interview anyone from McDonald’s, though he tries. After this film gained popularity at Sundance last January, McDonald’s discarded their “Super Size” options and added an adult happy meal. Even though the corporation denies Super Size Me having a voice in their decisions, Spurlock is still taking credit for it.

Though not as in your face, one-sided, or forceful as such documentaries like Bowling for Columbine or The Fog of War, Super Size Me is nonetheless a fantastic film. Spurlock’s research, depth, and dedication make this film so compelling, but also very funny. Watching Spurlock speak of the amazement of the size of a “super size” order french fries is just one of the few comedic examples that makes this film all the more engrossing.

There are many times when the message takes a step overboard, in which some quick cuts of a artist’s paintings over McDonald’s power as corporation are just a little too much. It as if the point is has been made throughout the content and interviews that we do not need to see someone’s hatred for McDonald’s as his artistic inspiration.

Did Spurlock single out McDonald’s in this film? Sure he did, even though he touches on all of the fast food restaurants. He picks McDonald’s due to its proximity, in which there are over 80 McDonald’s restaurants in the thirteen-mile radius of Manhattan. However, what is acceptable is that Spurlock shows both sides of his argument of obesity in America. The documentary probably would have been better if in fact McDonald’s would have returned his calls for interviews.

Though very funny and very entertaining, Spurlock’s journey is still very frightening, in how quickly his liver begins to deteriorate. Of course, no one, at least we hope that no one eats McDonald’s three times a day, but the power of this film is still striking.

Grade: B+

Joseph Tucker

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