As weak and bland as a McDonald's hamburger patty.
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
it's the supporting cast that takes control of the movie and makes the audience pay attention as best we can as Fast Food Nation falls apart
Even when Linklater does hit the soapbox a little too hard, Fast Food Nation still becomes the feel-bad movie of the year. And not just in an intestinal sort of way.
Linklater's inquisitive mini-epic bullies the American way of eating with harsh reality and delicate understanding
Linklater defines his characters by their relationships, hopes, choices and weaknesses -- not, as so many directors do, by their particular socioeconomic circumstances.
The animals' deaths are more exploited (and rendered senseless) by the film itself than they are by the restaurants and meat packers the film does its best to condemn.
The film adaptation of Eric Schlossers best-selling book is far too rich and complicated to be understood as a simple, high-minded polemic.
Viewers expecting a blistering attack on the fast-food business, or an Altmanesque panorama, will be disappointed, but it's a sensitive and humane piece of work.
[A] sloppy, overarching fiction that tries to do too many things at once. It's like a three-ring circus in which none of the acts is terribly interesting.
[Director] Linklater maintains his usual effortless, laid-back charm while railing against corrupt industry as a whole. (Even when you're being hammered over the head with some point, it's usually a quiet, polite sort of hammering.)
The unstoppable director Richard Linklater (A Scanner Darkly) and writer Eric Schlosser take the latter's nonfiction bestseller and rig up a fictitious, sprawling narrative to take up the book's scathing talking points.
Effectively balanced between the nonfiction muckraking of Eric Schlosser's bestselling exposé and the loosely structured character drama of Richard Linklater's adaptation, the film is fascinating food for thought.
Fast Food Nation works best when it's just hanging out with its far-flung collection of likable, flawed people living off the fat and the lean of the land.
What's most frustrating about Fast Food Nation is how much it promises and how little it delivers.
A bold muckraking movie that attacks the fast-food industry, corporate malfeasance, workplace safety, and the plight of Mexican immigrants and working class people.
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