This perfectly paced, thoughtfully written, and impeccably acted masterpiece is a gourmet meal from one of American cinema's master chefs.
Fast Food Nation (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:137
Fresh:70
Rotten:67
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Despite some fine performances and memorable scenes, Fast Food Nation is more effective as Eric Schlosser's eye-opening non-fiction book than as Richard Linklater's fictionalized, mostly punchless movie.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for disturbing images, strong sexuality, language and drug content.
Runtime: 2 hrs 36 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:04-05-2007
Synopsis: When it was published in 2001, Fast Food Nation quickly became a New York Times bestseller, with its no-holds-barred, non-fiction exploration of "the dark side of the All-American meal." The big... When it was published in 2001, Fast Food Nation quickly became a New York Times bestseller, with its no-holds-barred, non-fiction exploration of "the dark side of the All-American meal." The big screen version FAST FOOD NATION is a dramatic feature penned by Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser and Oscar® nominee Richard Linklater, who also serves as director. Explains Linklater: "The movie is not a documentary, but a character study of the lives behind the facts and figures. I'm more interested in fiction than non-fiction. You get to the point through human storytelling." Writer/Director Richard Linklater has helmed such diverse works as DAZED AND CONFUSED, THE SCHOOL OF ROCK, BAD NEWS BEARS and WAKING LIFE and was nominated for an Oscar in 2005 for penning the script for BEFORE SUNSET. In addition to his career as a writer, Schlosser is an award-winning correspondent for "The Atlantic Monthly." FAST FOOD NATION is produced by Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas (THE LAST EMPEROR, SEXY BEAST, MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE) and musical entrepreneur Malcolm McLaren. The film's co-producer is Ann Carli (BROTHER, FESTIVAL EXPRESS) and executive producer is Jeff Skoll (SYRIANA, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.). FAST FOOD NATION stars a diverse roster of award-winning actors that span ages and ethnicities, including Wilmer Valderrama ("That 70's Show"), Catalina Sandino Moreno (a 2005 Oscar nominee for MARIA FULL OF GRACE), Ana Claudia Talancon (EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO), Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear (AS GOOD AS IT GETS, MATADOR), Bobby Cannavale (a 2005 Emmy winner for "Will & Grace"), Oscar nominee Kris Kristofferson (SONGWRITER, DREAMER), Ashley Johnson (WHAT WOMEN WANT), multiple Grammy-nominated recording artist Avril Lavigne, Oscar-nominated actor and writer Ethan Hawke (BEFORE SUNSET, TRAINING DAY, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13), Patricia Arquette (2005 Emmy winner for her role on the NBC series "Medium"), Lou Taylor Pucci (THUMBSUCKER), SAG Award winner Luis Guzman (TRAFFIC, DREAMER), and Esai Morales ("NYPD Blue"). --© Fox Searchlight Pictures [More]
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Bruce Willis, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Bruce Willis, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano, Ethan Hawke, Wilmer Valderrama, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne
Director: Richard Linklater
Director: Richard Linklater
Producer: Jeremy Thomas, Malcolm McLaren
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Reviews for Fast Food Nation
By taking a fictional approach, and drastically easing out of the attack mode, Fast Food Nation offers about as much bite as a day-old french fry.
It's a lot of food for thought -- even if sometimes, a bit too much is on the menu.
For all the filmmaker's good intentions, Fast Food Nation isn't a particularly good movie.
Those astonished to learn that animals are slaughtered to make hamburgers may well find Richard Linklater's clumsy Fast Food Nation educational; the rest of us may be underwhelmed.
Unlike the book it's based on, Fast Food Nation won't make you think twice about what you eat. But it may make you think second thoughts about whether it might have made a better documentary.
Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation is major. It's an angry movie that could shame a Big Mac lover into having a salad.
Many of the film's subtler points are likely to slip by viewers who haven't first read Schlosser's book. Other salient points are shoehorned into the dialogue, rendering key scenes preachy, heavy-handed and dramatically inert.
Richard Linklater is channeling Robert Altman -- or at least it seems he's trying to channel Altman -- with his meandering, intertwined plot lines.
If 'Texas Chain Saw,' 'Prime Cut' and a score of other features that graphically literalized the concept that Meat Is Murder didn't transform moviegoers into vegetarians, what impact will an artful polemic like this have on the national stomach?
This unflinching expose into the dark underbelly of the All-American burger is a thought-provoking cinematic meal.
You know what they call a Royale with Cheese in Austin, Texas? The Big One...ambitious and a typically satisfying outing for one of America's most consistent directors.
At heart, the film is a vegetarian manifesto %u2014 a worthy enterprise, perhaps, but, with its overabundance of characters designed to make predictable polemical points, not much of a movie.
This film does serve a valuable purpose in getting us to think and act more responsibly about the way we relate to the creation that God has entrusted to us.
There's a lot going on, but it all proceeds at Linklater's typical laid-back rhythm.
Helmer Linklater opens your eyes to what lengths corporate America will go to make a buck (or billions of bucks) to give our consumption-geared society what it wants.
All Linklater can do is play to the rafters, and for a film that's intended to wean audiences off fast food, you might find yourself purchasing some after the show just to spite this disappointing film.
Rather than looking down on viewers as dumb, blank slates to be taught and converted, [Linklater] simply invites us to participate in the conversation.
Not the most naturally flowing film, but it does get its point across.
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