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Author Topic: Super Size Me (2004) Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-01-2004 08:47 AM                        No one else has seen this yet? This is an annoying film. Healthy man eats nothing but food from McDonald's for thirty days. Man is no longer healthy. Duh. Anyone who would have predicted a different outcome is a moron. Hell, anyone who eats every meal of every day at _any_ food service establishment for any length of time is probably not going to improve his health. That's why not many people actually do this sort of thing. What's worse is that the film raises a number of potentially interesting and loosely-connected issues related to poor eating and exercise habits, and then proceeds to address them in a cursory way and then not return to them for the remainder of the film. This guy occasionally makes an interesting point, and is occasionally somewhat humorous, but does the world really need another Michael Moore? And why does this sort of "performance art" always get classified as "documentary" (which it isn't)? *yawn*  |  IP: Logged Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-01-2004 10:36 AM                     I really enjoyed this film. Yeah, the outline is obvious. But to take a simple idea, and make it completly entertaining for 80 minutes is truely a feat. I can't recall being boared at any point durring the film. I cut my fast food by about half after seeing it. The group I went with decided to make the movie more interactive by visiting MickeyD's right before the show.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 06-07-2004 12:18 AM                     I probably won't get to see this feature until it hits the video store shelves. There are accusations among some critics that the show does some selective truth telling in the style of Michael Moore or Oliver Stone. But I think it is overall a good thing that this movie is bringing a lot more attention to just how needlessly unhealthy food companies are making a lot of products. Everyone knows that it is not a healthy thing to eat hamburgers and fries on a regular basis. But people do need to know about all the dangerous, cheap ingredients being put into many other foods you buy at the grocery store. Just a few Oreo cookies will give you the same amount of blood mud intake as a Big Mac Meal. High fructose corn syrup is a leading culprit in America's obesity epidemic. It is found in just about every food that has some sweet quality to it. Your body doesn't break it down as easily as the more expensive cane and beet sugars the food companies used to use. Partially hydrogenated oils should be banned outright. It is one of the main things which makes heart disease the number one killer of Americans. That crap is in all kinds of stuff --even your "fat free" salad dressing. If Americans have better, safer foods to eat, it might put a dent in the cost of health care --which right now is just spiraling further and further out of control.  |  IP: Logged Rich Granata Film Handler Posts: 61 From: Bethlehem PA USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 06-17-2004 12:39 PM                     I checked this out at the county theatre yesterday and it was very interesting. The guy is much easier to watch than Michael Moore. The movie is not just him eating. He has some great interviews and he shows some shots of a magnificent gastric bypass surgery. Over the 30 days he consumed about 35 lb. of sugar...Over a pound a day He also goes into some schools and ties our deep-rooted calorie love into what kids get (or don't get)in school. Even though no one actually solely eats McDos datafterday, the points he made are very suprising. If only he didn't have to destroy his liver doing it. American sizes. I wonder, when more people have seen this one if it will affect theatres at all. I Dunno, we do have a 64 Oz size. Interestingly, the food affected his mood (and his penis??)Needless to say, My friends and I ate a healthy lunch afterwards. A decent documentary, crappy movie.  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 06-26-2004 11:18 PM                     I just saw this at the Tampa Theatre. Picture Tour To Follow soon. I have made it a quest to NEVER eat fast fod again. This also will include food from the Mugs & Movies at my theatre. OMG. This movie shocked me. He hurt his liver after 9 days. MY current health situation prohibits me from eating fatty foods but I still do it. After seeing this film, I have checked myself. I am 240 and 6'6". With 25% body fat, I am in no shape to do an experiment like his. Overall, a very good movie. A lot of laughs. 4/5  |  IP: Logged Christopher Seo Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 530 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-29-2004 02:37 PM                     Yes, this was a contrived and smart-ass film, but I think it was pretty entertaining. And there were some amusing tidbits, like McDonald's stating how harmful their processed food is, and classifying once-per-week customers as "heavy users". Assuming it's all true anyway. Scott is right, Mr. Spurlock is reminiscent of Michael Moore, but in this case Moore could not have pulled off the same stunt.  |  IP: Logged Jim Bedford Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 597 From: Telluride, CO, USA (733 mi. WNW of Rockwall, TX but it seems much, much longer) Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-30-2004 06:38 PM                        "Mr. Spurlock is reminiscent of Michael Moore, but in this case Moore could not have pulled off the same stunt." It very much appears that Michael Moore has really pulled off the same stunt. No one working in film could be more be deserving of being given the title of "Super Sized." "Super Size Me" is remarkable in a number of ways, the most extraordnary being its gross to date. But it has gotten people talking about the issue and regardless what McDonald's says, it is probably responsible for making the question "Would you like to Super Size that?" go away.  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 06-30-2004 08:28 PM                     Next is the sequel, Wendy and the "biggie"  |  IP: Logged Adam Wilbert Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 590 From: Bellingham, WA, USA Registered: Mar 2002 posted 07-05-2004 07:16 PM                        I saw Super Size Me yesterday, and what struck me were the reaction of the audience. Every time an obese person was shown on screen, most of the audience would gasp in disgust. Some of these people watching the movie were not exactly trim themselves. Also, at one point in the film, various soda cup sizes are shown to illustrate how they have grown over the years. Again, more gasps and head-shaking-in-disbelief. Where have these people been? Was everyone in the audience new to the country? It amazes me how far removed people believe they are from things shown on a screen. -Adam  |  IP: Logged Jennifer Pan THE JEN! Posts: 1219 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: Nov 2003 posted 08-04-2004 01:55 AM                        Just got back from seeing this really awesome movie! Dude, I'm so gonna cut down fast food and sodas! Probably all together for a long time. It has put me in the state of mind to do something.... and I've never felt that why about a movie(documentary)... So I'm sooo gonna workout.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-14-2004 11:14 PM                     I was finally able to rent a copy of "Super Size Me!" on DVD. Overall, I found the movie funny and entertaining. It's a solid three stars out of four. The show deserves extra credit for all the attention Spurlock's eating stunt and this movie brought to this dangerous, costly health problem in America. I was a little suspicious of some parts of the movie. Perhaps that's why it left some viewers with a negative feeling about the show as just some annoying stunt. For example, Spurlock takes 20 minutes to stuff down his first super sized meal. He winds up vomiting out of his vehicle window onto the pavement. I don't know. Sure, the moment was funny, but I'm not as tall and heavy as Morgan Spurlock and I've never thrown up from being overstuffed by a super-sized McDonald's meal. Mind you, I rarely ever eat at McDonalds. Much of the information director Morgan Spurlock shared about America's fat problem was already common knowledge. Still, I was pretty floored by that United States graphic in the video's opening showing the rising rates of obesity in America over just the past 23 years. Then I laughed pretty hard at what he called America's reaction: "we sued the bastards." That is the American tradition. Don't take any damned personal responsibility. Just blame it on everything else. Most people were angered by the deliberate actions from the tobacco industry in marketing to kids with "Joe Camel." This movie made me pretty pissed about McDonalds' own insidious ad campaigns to children. McDonalds also has the most effective (by far) storefront identity. You can recognize their standard full size pylon signs at distances of more than 2 miles. No other major store chain in the world can make that claim. I was even more angry about all the junk food being sold in schools. Many people here in Lawton are fighting to get sodas and junk food removed from the schools. But the school administration will not budge. They just give excuses about higher property taxes and shit like that. Want to properly fund education? Fire a shitload of school administrators! Bloated administration is the problem when it comes to lack of funding for schools. The movie was at its best when it delivered solid information about the actions of the food industry and our government's apathy and willingness to look the other way, or be a partner in crime with "the bastards." The movie needed this kind of stuff because it would not have sustained itself alone just with video of Spurlock eating and having doctors tell him he's poisoning his liver. Still there were other points missed in the movie that the DVD does cover in its extras. The best extra on the DVD is a 25 minute interview with Eric Schlosser, author of the book "Fast Food Nation". They cover the marketing motives and the changes that happen when a nice small business hamburger stand grows into an uncaring corporate monolith. The two cover the point on why it cost so damned much more to buy healthy foods at the grocery store than the junk. Overall, the movie and this interview makes the whole thing a bit more complete.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 10-23-2004 09:40 PM                    You're objecting to McDonald's having an easily recognizable sign? What's wrong with that? quote: Scott Norwood And why does this sort of "performance art" always get classified as "documentary" (which it isn't)? They're not? Why not? Some of you seem to be under the false assumption that a documentary must present a balanced view without taking sides. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The best have always had a definite point of view.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-29-2004 08:48 AM                        I have no objection to documentaries that take a position on the subject which they are documenting, but I do think that anything claiming to be a "documentary" has an obligation to present the subject fairly, without witholding pertinent information or attempting to mislead the audience. SSM and Michael Moore's films aren't just one-sided; they're intentionally misleading. If they weren't billed as "documentaries," I would have no problem with them.  |  IP: Logged Barrett Jarabek Film Handler Posts: 7 From: Mitchell, SD, USA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 11-11-2004 10:09 PM                     i thought this movie was entertaining. the thing that bugged me though, did anyone see his "last meal" before his experiment?? this guy went from straight vegetarian, health freak...to McDonalds everyday. My last meal would have been steak, potatoes and a budlight. Notice he was puking on the 2nd day. If anyone else out there has been on vacation or works long hours...you know you can hit the drive through more than a few times without getting sick.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 11-11-2004 11:18 PM                     quote: Steve Kraus You're objecting to McDonald's having an easily recognizable sign? What's wrong with that? Nothing is wrong with a sign being legible at far distances, even the McDonalds sign. There's nothing wrong with having a very effective advertising campaign. The problem I have is most of what they sell is very bad for people. McDonalds is really great at selling people dangerous food. They're better than most fast food chains at doing it. If you have a car load of kids and they go ape shit when they see that McDonalds sign two miles away you might be tempted to stop there just for some peace and quiet. Sure, we have the freedom to avoid fast food places like McDonalds. We can try (with a certain level of futility) to only buy healthy foods at the grocery store. The vast majority of people don't do this. Many have no health insurance. When they wind up with heart disease and gigantic medical bills the tab gets passed on to you and me. Health care costs skyrocket. Insurance costs go through the roof. Millions more join the ranks of the uninsured and enjoy the American "hope you don't get sick or you'll get bankrupted" system of health care. It is real easy for us to pick on smokers. Here in Oklahoma, we just passed a 4-cent per cigarette tax (80 cents per pack). Do any politicians out there have the balls to pick on people with shitty diets? Do they have the balls to take on the powerful food industry lobby? Not right now. I think it will take our medical system going bust for anyone to do anything about it.  |  IP: Logged

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