I unaccountably got the dvd of this as an Xmas gift, unaccountably because I don't really watch a lot of documentaries. Maybe because people don't seem to make documentaries about subjects I'm interested in. (The last one I saw in the movies was TOUCHING THE VOID earlier this year, which I had some problems with but generally liked.)

Anyway, I saw it this morning, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Pluses include:

-- Spurlock manages to present a lot of what could've been rather dry information entertainingly.

-- The stunt itself, which frankly took guts. I remember he caught some criticism for it, but it makes sense in movie terms, both as a way to dramatize the issue and as a hedge against my third point, which is

-- that it's a lot less elitist and condescending than I feared. One reason I didn't see it in the movies is that I was afraid of a lot of finger waggling and tsk-tsking, and there is a little bit of that, but for the most part Spurlock manages not to look down on his interview subjects, some of whom, frankly, are a little odd. (I'm thinking of the Big Mac enthusiast.) Plus, the stunt means he's on the McD diet himself, he's one of them, suffering the same problems, relishing the same crappy food.

Minuses:

-- the incredibly annoying girlfriend, who with her eye-rolling, sighs, overly dramatic statements (at one point she compares ham to heroin -- Spurlock to his credit, shoots that down) and the like is exactly the sort of condescending elitist I was afraid Spurlock would be.

-- here and there Spurlock glides over areas of his argument that'll give him problems -- the notion that the food itself is addicting is suggested, but not really deeply examined, for instance. Or the lawyer who slyly suggests suing McD's is about money before trying to find a "noble cause": it would have been interesting to follow up on that. Not a big deal, actually the movie is more honest than you might first think, but these instances are there.

-- I suppose the biggest minus is how tv-bound the whole thing feels like. It feels very uncinematic, very small screen, ike an unusally good episode of PBS's POV. I'm glad I didn't see it in a movie theater. Maybe that has something to do with what influences documentary filmmakers? I don't know but I'd think that most are inspired by PBS and the like -- what else are they going to watch?

I suppose a minor thumbs up. It's hard for me to believe that most of the information here is unknown to adult Americans -- I suspect even the Big Mac enthusiast knows they're not good for you. I think it would be good to show it to teenagers -- it feels sort of "young adulty", in a way, and they'd probably get a lot more out of it.

The dvd has some good bonus features, including an interview with Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation (a great book, turned me off big fast food franchises for good), and a very funny experiment on the decomposition rate of McD's products. I suspect a couple of minutes were added to the end of the movie; Spurlock answers the criticism that no one would eat at McD's the way he did by suggesting that some do, and actually I bet he's right. People do some nutty things.

doug

True, but I don't think anyone knew just how "not good for you" McDonald's food actually is. Heck, not even the doctors who examined Spurlock before he began his experiment knew what would happen to him. One thought he'd probably gain a little weight and see his cholesterol level rise a bit; two weeks later, he was begging Spurlock to stop before McDonald's killed him!

I thought SUPER SIZE ME was terrific entertainment and more educational than I expected. To see the gregarious Spurlock transformed into a blotchy zombie before our very eyes is to believe in the insidious business practices of one of America's most beloved symbols. But this film isn't just a McDonald's hatchet job. Spurlock also examines the eating habits of school children, including the origin of the hot lunches served to them in the cafeteria, and the manner in which producers of unhealthy food advertise it to kids (I had no idea that children were able to choose their own meals consisting of french fries, Doritos and Ding Dongs!). A fascinating, educational documentary with a poignant revelation about our fast-food society.

In my experience, the tongue-clucking manner of Spurlock's girlfriend is not unusual among vegans or vegetarians, but your mileage may vary.