Opening

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—— The Hangover Part III May 23
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—— Fill the Void May 24
—— A Green Story May 24
—— Alyce Kills May 24

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Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

Fast Food Nation (2006)

tomatometer

51

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 144
Fresh: 73 | Rotten: 71

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.

41

Average Rating: 5.5/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 23

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.

audience

43

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 62,419

My Rating

Movie Info

Inspired by author Eric Schlosser's New York Times best-seller of the same name, director Richard Linklater's ensemble drama examines the health issues and social consequences of America's love affair with fast food and features an all-star cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke, Kris Kristofferson, Patricia Arquette, and Luis Guzman. Mickey's is the most popular fast-food chain in America, and The Big One is the top-selling burger that put them on the map. When the higher-ups at Mickey's

R,

Drama, Comedy

Mar 6, 2007

$0.9M

Fox Searchlight Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (152) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (71) | DVD (20)

The fiction that Schlosser and the director Richard Linklater have extracted from the book is a mess, with narrative lines that go astray or simply wind up in the air.

November 20, 2006
New Yorker
Top Critic IconTop Critic

To me at least, there were just too many ingredients.

November 20, 2006 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

To a degree, Fast Food Nation gets the job done, not least because of a harrowing section, late in the film, made up of actual slaughterhouse footage.

November 18, 2006 Full Review Source: Salon.com
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Even if you swear off burgers forever, it won't make Fast Food Nation's characters come to life.

November 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Slate
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

They say you don't want to see what goes on behind the scenes in the making of sausage or politics. Fast Food Nation blends the two, and the result may not be a very good movie, but it certainly is effectively disgusting.

November 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Detroit News
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Fast Food Nation is alternately funny and disturbing, and surprisingly informative, even as it sacrifices some of its strength by lecturing to an audience that might be snacking on fake cheese-covered corn chips and calorie-laden cola.

November 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is a considered film that lacks the immediacy of a blunt message like the more simplistic Super Size Me, or the punchy, smokescreen climax of a film like Syriana to send the audience out feeling enlightened.

November 7, 2012 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia
Empire Magazine Australasia

Linklater is preaching to the converted.

November 3, 2012 Full Review Source: TheShiznit.co.uk
TheShiznit.co.uk

It's about empty calories and empty life - ridiculous insistences that all kids see playing time regardless of on-field performance, the absurdity of porn as background noise, that revolution can start in rec rooms and the woozy lure of neon strip malls.

September 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com
Suite101.com

Distills a non-fiction book about the influence of fast food on the global cultural landscape into a narrative film that touches on the many of the points and populaces of the book.

June 9, 2010 Full Review Source: DCist

'Fast Food Nation' might have translated into a compelling documentary. Instead, Schlosser's research is used as a springboard into a sluggish fictional narrative that merely hints at the grim reality.

December 1, 2009 Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner
San Francisco Examiner

Alt-weekly defeatism

August 28, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comment (1)
CinePassion

Avril Lavigne even pops up to rail against deforestation. Who knew she could pronounce it?

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly
I.E. Weekly

Bloody exposé not for kids. Want fries with that?

July 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

preachy

July 5, 2008

This was never intended to be a conventional movie, but more like a personal industrial film illustrating the process that brings the corpse of a cow to your dinner table.

May 5, 2008 Full Review Source: PopMatters
PopMatters

Fills us with too much stuffing to digest in one sitting.

October 9, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The large cast is uniformly excellent and the film has been designed to stir the pot ... Unfortunately, audiences don't seem to be responding. Global warming is the hot button issue but our food supply and its contamination is just as important.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | Comments (2)
Murphy's Movie Reviews

Audience Reviews for Fast Food Nation

Based on the non-fiction expose about the dirty secrets of the fast food industry, this is a fiction adaptation directed by Richard Linklater, and co-written by him and the book's author Eric Schlosser.

What we get here are a series of interconnected stories revolving around the various people involved with a fast food chain, and the role that the restaurant and various aspects connected to it affect all of these people, and vice versa. It seems like a rather odd and challenging way to adapt a work of non-fiction, but somehow it kinda works.

Granted, the film barely scratches the surface, and seems a little too neat, tidy, and convenient in places, but it strikes a nice balance between being a message movie like the similar Super Size Me or Food, Inc. and still being entertaining without too much pretense or over-the-top manipulation to make a point. Yes, there's some disturbing moments and images, but it's not as revolting and off putting as you might be lead to believe.

Instead, it's rather nuanced. and more about the human stories and the role of fast food within culture as opposed to being an extremist piece of muckraking propaganda.

As he is good at doing, Linklater has a wonderful ensemble cast lined up for this which includes Ethan Hawke, Greg Kinnear, Patricia Arquette, Bonbby Cannavale, Wilmer Valderama, and two wonderful,. if not brilliant appearances from Kris Kristofferson and (especially) Bruce Willis. Most of their performances are pretty good too...for the most part. Avril Lavigne sucks it up, but at least she's not in it for too long.

All in all, a pretty decent film. I'm not going to become a vegetarian as a result of watching this, and it didn't tell me a whole lot that I didn't already know, but at least gave some more awareness and the arguments that are made are pretty well balanced are well done, too.
April 23, 2012
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

A marketing director for a major fast food joint investigates reports that there is "shit in the meat."
I suppose that attempting to fictionalize a non-fiction book about a systemic problem sets one up to create plastic characters who stand in for larger social problems, and to put Richard Linklater whose characters are plastic anyway only compounds the problem. Typical of Linklater, the heroes and villains are clearly defined; the heroes are anti-establishment types who spout conspiracy theories, and the villains are either conspirators, dupes in the process, or like the cows in the penultimate scene of the film, too stupid to do anything substantial. There are some Mexican illegal immigrants who have some interesting differences from the basic Linklater approach, but these characters aren't substantial enough to carry the film. Additionally, plot elements like Brian's planned robbery and Don's further investigation are inexplicably dropped, leaving parts of the film unfinished.
On a positive note, the film's heart is in the right place. Linklater and co-writer Eric Schlosser are writing against fast food joints, and their arguments are similar to Michael Pollan's. With disgusting images of the kill floor in a slaughterhouse and charges that such places are exploiting illegal labor markets, this argument is strong, and I hope that it finds a receptive audience.
Overall, as a film, Fast Food Nation is not very good, but as a social argument, I can't hate it too much.
July 29, 2012
hunterjt13
Jim Hunter

Super Reviewer

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