'Fast Food Nation' Opens Today

Posted by Adam Kuban, November 17, 2006 at 10:15 AM

I had heard that the adaptation of Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation—a must-read for any burger fan—wasn't so good, but A. O. Scott's review says otherwise. A snip:

“Most people don’t like to be told what’s best for them,” says Bruce Willis in a sly, brilliant, single-scene cameo, and the suspicion that the movie is doing just that may provoke some reflexive resistance.

Which is too bad, because “Fast Food Nation,” while it does not shy away from making arguments and advancing a clear point of view, is far too rich and complicated to be understood as a simple, high-minded polemic. It is didactic, yes, but it’s also dialectical. While the climactic images of slaughter and butchery — filmed in an actual abattoir — may seem intended to spoil your appetite, Mr. Linklater and Mr. Schlosser have really undertaken a much deeper and more comprehensive critique of contemporary American life.

I was going to skip this flick, but now I'm going to see it. Just not tonight—I already have tix to Happy Feet in IMAX.

The Ties That Bind America’s Food Chain [New York Times]

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