Written and Directed by Morgan Spurlock
Super Size Me looks at the effects fast food has on individuals and society. Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker, is man driven by a large amount of conviction and determination to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, there are times when he is so dedicated to his cause that he forgoes logic and fairness while making his argument. This causes him to lose some credibility even when he makes valid points.
Rather than having the film be a visual essay about the evils of fast food and the corporations that make and sell it, Morgan breaks up what would have been a monotonous collection of facts and interviews by putting himself on a "McDonald's menu only" diet for a whole month and tracking the results. That's right, for 30 days he was only able to eat something that was on the McDonald's menu. Another rule that he had to observe was whenever he was asked to super-size, he accepted.
Over the course of the month, Morgan went in for regular check-ups with a series of doctors. He started to put on weight and his blood tests showed him becoming very unhealthy. Morgan refused to get off the diet when the doctors cautioned him about his health being at risk. This was foolhardy because he had shown that the fast food was hurting his body because it couldn't process the high fat content, so a goal was accomplished after roughly three weeks. What was the reason to continue? What would a few more days accomplish? He didn't seem to care that he was upsetting his mother and his girlfriend, who as a vegan chef had trouble dealing with the whole concept from the outset.
Another problem I had with Morgan's methodology is that a dietician he was working with asked him to stop drinking soda and stick with water. It was on the menu, so it seemed like a viable option. Again, for some unknown reason, he refused the request and continued to drink sodas he knew were bad for him. While I was sympathetic to his purpose, he seemed to be forcing the results that he wanted to get.
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