Big Man, Big Belly, BIG DOCUMENTARY!!! (Super Size Me (DVD))

Member Name: jatkinson100

Product:	Super Size Me (DVD)
Date:	27/02/05 (341 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: This will make you think about, if not actually force you to change your eating habits., A great mix of macro and micro effects of fast fast food.

Disadvantages: Not quite as polished as Michael Moore's offerings., Didn't manage to embarrass McDonalds' people as they wouldn't give him an interview.

‘Super Size Me’ is an interesting documentary showing the effects of today’s desire for fast-food on the body and, indeed, the mind. The premise is simple: a man decides to eat nothing (and that means NOTHING) a part from McDonalds for one month, and live like the average American. Now, I am partial to a McDonalds. I don’t particularly like them per se, but really do think that a sausage and egg McMuffin is a great thing for a hangover. Even before reading Eric Schlosser’s informative ‘Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal Is Doing to the World’, I was not at all happy with McDonalds’ business practices, nor their affect on people’s, and especially children’s, health. ‘Super Size Me’ goes a long way to prove that McDonalds is harming us and, particularly, our children.

It is children who gave Spurlock the idea; to morbidly obese girls in America tried to sue McDonalds. McDonalds, of course, won. However, part of their defence was that everyone knows that McDonalds are bad for you. The judge ruled for McDonalds on the basis that these girls couldn’t prove that McDonalds had harmed them, or was that harmful. Spurlock goes out to see if McDonalds can harm you that much, and on the way he is informative, entertaining and congenial guide through America and the West’s desire for fast food.

It begins benignly enough by explaining what the filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock, will undertake. He then visits a couple of doctors for their opinion of his health, including a full toxicology report (and having something inserted up… I’ll stop there). He also goes to the gym to check how fit he is. He is pretty healthy; not a gym bunny or super athlete, but just healthy. He tells us all, and the doctors / gym instructor, what he is going to, namely, live off McDonalds and do very little exercise (using a pedometer to measure how mar he walks to keep in check with being the all-American average Joe). The doctors are, pretty much, unconcerned. They let him know that he’ll put on some weight and that his blood sugar and salt levels will rise, but doubt that it will do him much short term or any long term damage. The most concerned person is in the gym; she tells him, in no uncertain terms, that this will be bad. Just how bad, even she doesn’t realise!

And so it begins: Spurlock travels all over America, tasting the local delicases of McDonalds and Supersizing every time, but only when, he is asked if he would like to. We watch him vomit, describe sugar highs and generally deteriorate. It is very, very sad, though compelling to watch; car crash TV at its best.

Throughout the experiment, Spurlock gets regular health checks from his experts and gives us facts and figures about McDonalds, and the fast food industry as a whole. He compares the amount spent on advertising by these chains and compares it to the total budget of the government’s healthy eating campaigns; you guessed it, it’s not really a fair fight. This question returns to the litigious girls who were his inspiration; with so much spent on, particularly children’s, advertising, how much choice do they have? He looks at the diet of school pupils in ordinary schools across America and interviews kitchen staff and pupils about choices, or what little choices there are; this can be compared to ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’ now on TV. He also looks at a forward thinking school for students expelled for other schools. They overhauled their mealtimes to include only healthy and nutritious food; the results were breathtaking – behaviour improved across the board with massive changes in pupils’ conduct and treatment of staff and others. Of course, he notes wryly, it costs more, and in this day and age, Spurlock and Oliver agree, cost matters. A lot! We also learn much about McDonalds’ ingredients, not least the fact that all but about three of their products do not contain added sugar, and, by the way, the salads DO!

FROM THIS POINT ON, THIS REVIEW MAY BE SEEN AS A SPOILER, THOUGH NOTHING MENTIONED WILL GIVE THE READER ANY CAUSE TO NOT SEE ‘SUPER SIZE ME’ OR DETRACT FROM THEIR ENJOYMENT OF IT AS THIS IS A DOCUMENTARY RATHER THAN A TRUE NARRATIVE.

As Spurlock generally degenerates, we get regular updates on his mental and physical health from both him and his girlfriend. As a vegan chef, I didn’t expect her to be too happy with his meal choices, but I thought she was pretty understanding and supported him throughout. These updates give us a truer picture of the impact of such a poor diet. Yes, we all knew he’d put on some weight; that’s obvious, isn’t it? However, listening to him talk of the great highs and deep lows during and after eating, we see that this man is, quite literally, becoming addicted to salty, sugary foods, and is feeling a great ‘high’ from his thrice daily fixes of carbohydrates. He updates us with pictures of his rapidly growing waistline, but his monologues or discussions on camera show that he is tired, irritable and angry, with almost total lethargy; now, does this remind you of any kids you know? As his emotional stability and joie de vivre slipped, so did his libido. His appetite for sex lessened as his consumption of McDonalds grew, as did his physical ability to have sex; his girlfriend’s discussion about his inability to sustain an erection or bring her to orgasm is both horrifying and funny.

Nearing the end of the film, however, the true impact of what he has undertaken is felt. Throughout the film, Spurlock’s doctors and health experts become increasingly worried about his health. Far from the ‘interesting’ experiment they thought it was, they are all now fearful for his long term health. Watching these scenes and seeing a man being given terrible, terrible news about his health is heart-wrenching. He is advised time and time again to finish the project early and it is truly a horrible decision he has to make. So much has his health deteriorated that he is compared to an alcoholic, such was the effect of the salt and sugar on his liver. The fatty issue inside his body has grown and grown and it is with a heavy, fearful and, no doubt, fat-filled heart that he discussed what to do next with his nearest and dearest.

Does he give up early or carry on? Does he come out of it OK or irrevocably damaged? I’ll have to advise you, dear reader, to find out.

‘Super Size Me’ is a great documentary from an unknown filmmaker. It is not one to go see if you want fights and action and things blowing up, or, as I’ve said, sex scenes. However, if you really want to see the effect that the stuff that goes into your mouth has, then see this film. You will talk about and remember it for a long time. If you do go to McDonalds regularly, you will also find that your visits become less frequent and the words “Hmmm, I think I’ll have a salad instead” become more so. Above all, though, this film will make you think about you, your family, and the way our society is going. It will change you and, I think, change you for the better.

I'm not sure I would advise anyone to go out and buy this film as, for me, once was enough, but that once is all important and I would recommend anyone and everyone to go out and rent it.

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