Fast Food Nation

views updated

Fast Food Nation ★★★ 2006 (R)

Director Richard Linklater's attempt to show the public that fast food is both figuratively and literally crappy suffers from some slow pacing and wandering plotlines, but its point is effectively supersized. After Don (Kinnear), an executive at fictional restaurant chain Mickey's, discovers that some cows may have dropped a chalupa in the meat patties, he starts an investigation that crosses ethnic and class barriers. The story then weaves the lives of illegal immigrants (Moreno, Valderrama), cattle ranchers (Kristofferson, Willis) and suburbanites (Arquette, Hawke, Johnson) together to show why most burger shack value meals should be called the “number two.” Linklater wrote the screenplay with Eric Schlosser, whose eponymous nonfiction book provided inspiration. Salad, anyone? 114m/C DVD . GB US Patricia Arquette, Paul Franklin Dano, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Bobby Canavale, Greg Kinnear, Ashley Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Wilmer Valderrama, Bruce Willis; D: Richard Linklater; W: Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser; C: Lee Daniel; M: Dean Martinez.