Pearl Lam
Fast Food Nation, adapted from Eric Schlosser’s highly successful book of the same name, might seem like it’s just trying to jump on the fast-food-as-popular-culture wagon explored by movies like Super Size Me, but director Richard Linklater pulls off the job with aplomb, pulling off a story worthy of the print version’s acclaim. Purely fictional, comprising of three substories and featuring people whose lives revolve directly or indirectly around fast food, Fast Food Nation’s cast of characters includes Don Henderson (Greg Kinnear), the vice-president of marketing for Mickey’s, a fast food restaurant; Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Coco (Ana Claudia Talancón), 2 sisters who crossed the borders illegally to work at a slaughterhouse-meat packing plant and Amber (Ashley Johnson), a teenage schoolgirl who works part-time at a fast-food chain outlet.
Due to alleged reports of contamination in Mickey’s meat patties, Henderson, a clean cut father of two, is tasked to investigate the matter. Leaving his comfortable corporate lifestyle in South California behind, he travels down to immigrant-driven UMP (the afore-mentioned slaughterhouse), Colorado, only to find a seemingly clean and efficient system already in place. Determined to get to the root of the problem, Don digs deeper. Eventually, what Don finds out forces him to make some hard moral decisions that will impact his professional work ethics, his family, and his life.
The second sub-story revolves around Amber, an enthusiastic and idealistic high school girl born to a single-parent family. Eager to escape the crutches of poverty, she works hard at Mickey’s by night and studies hard in school by day. At a party, Amber meets several like-minded teens, including Avril Lavinge, who makes a cameo appearance, who want to change the world for the better. Of course, what better way is there to start things off by releasing cows from a slaughterhouse ranch, albeit illegally?
Also working in the fast food industry (and comprising the last sub-story) are 2 Mexican sisters, demure Sylvia and feisty Coco. Driven by ambition, Coco embarks on a playful and scandalous relationship with her UMP supervisor, Mike. Although disapproving initially, Sylvia ends up in the same cycle as Coco due to the hunger for more money.
In retrospect, this character-driven movie seems to try to get the audience thinking twice about getting that fast food meal they’ve been eating and just about the fast food industry in general. This reviewer, for one, certainly got the message, with the realistic portrayals of Don, Amber, Sylvia, Coco and the rest of the characters in the movie.
Link later said, in an interview, “Something didactic wouldn’t work in a narrative. For me, you get to the point through human storytelling.” Music composed by Friends of Dean Martinez also helped create the appropriate mood for the movie. For example, there is a gruesome scene of cows being slaughtered and blood spurting out in a sporadic manner to the sounds of tasteless and funeral-like Mexican-like instrumental music.
That aside, the movie has been largely appetizing to the curious mind – great content, great information, great story-telling and appropriate music. Just don’t watch it on a full stomach of burgers, fries and soft drink and I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars
Movie Details
Opens: January 4
Runtime: 113 minutes
Cast: Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana Claudia Talancon and Wilmer Valderrama.