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Fast Food Nation

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 15.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Bloody exposé; not for kids. Want fries with that?

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 15–16

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Thematic focus is corruption in fast food (contaminated meat, cover-ups); frustrated workers strike back as they can (e.g., spitting in food); characters lie, cheat, and argue.
  • Violence:

    The film's disturbing climax shows cattle slaughtered (actual bloody, graphic footage); crossing the U.S.-Mexican border is depicted as rough going (harsh conditions, thirst, exhaustion, passing out); discussion of McDonald's robbery (unseen); worker loses leg in plant machine (bloody and graphic).
  • Sex:

    Two brief sex scenes in vehicles (one shows breasts and indicates nude bodies, the other is "doggy style" and uncomfortable, as the creepy floor manager has sex with female employees in exchange for favors at work); another sex scene in the plant freezer (not explicit); sexual slang ("slut," "balls," "dick"); Doug plays a porn movie in his hotel room (you only hear moans, no image, as he looks at the screen); uncle offers his niece $1000 if she doesn't get pregnant by age 21.
  • Language:

    Repeated uses of "f--k" (20+), plus other language, including "ass," "s--t," "hell," "damn," "crap," and "sons of bitches."
  • Consumerism:

    Thematic focus on marketing fast food (McDonald's-style, though the company in the movie is the fictional "Mickey's"); specific references to ESPN, McDonald's, Fuddruckers.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Smoking cigarettes, drinking, smoking marijuana, allusions to "meth freaks," snorting drugs; some workers are visibly high on the job.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Fast Food Nation

Parents need to know that most kids probably won't be that interested in this exposé of the fast food industry (which is based on Eric Schlosser's non-fiction best-seller). And just as well. It includes an extremely graphic sequence on the "killing floor" of a meat-packing plant, which shows actual footage of brutal hacking at cattle. Other violence includes the difficult border crossing endured by Mexican workers and a bloody scene of a worker's leg getting caught and cut off in a grinding machine. Some sex scenes between a manager (who trades sex for favors at work) and his female workers show naked body parts. Characters drink, smoke marijuana, and take methamphetamines. Language includes some 20 uses of "f--k" and a variety of other curses.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the ethics of producing fast food. Why do the producers sacrifice quality to save money? What is a corporation's responsibility in protecting its workers? How honest do corporations that produce food need to be? Should they disclose errors and regularly occurring contaminations? How does this movie show connections between the corruption that runs throughout the company's hierarchy (from floor workers to managers to marketers to executives)? Do you think this drama -- which is based on a non-fiction book -- is more effective than a documentary on the same topic would have been? Why or why not?

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title off for age 17 and give it 0.0

    Awful!

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Virginia
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 3.0

    no

    bad movie!

  3. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in California
    I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 1.0

    Confusing movie with abusive sex

    I thought the movie was over the top. It had a point that was important but it didn't need to get so graphic. I didn't like that when the man from the big company found about what really happened he just ignored it and left knowing the truth but never told anyone.

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Very good movie

    I have to say, Fast Food Nation has to be the best independent film I have ever seen. This film has important moral themes and I can't recommend it enough. Be wary of the R, though. There is extremely graphic animal mutilation in the end at a slaughterhouse, about 25 f-words (with some guy who appears twice using 3 f-words a sentence) a few s-words, people getting high on "crank", some mild sexual slang, and two sex scenes (they were more disturbing than explicit). Also in a hotel room you can hear the sounds of a porn movie (but you don't see anything). Any mature 12 to 14 year old can see this movie. Otherwise it's 15+.

  5. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title off for age 17 and give it 1.0

    did they run out of money.....bad bad bad

    The issues in this movie are important, but poorly portrayed, and badly handled. There were to many stories going on at once and not one is done justice. This movie is a total waste of time. Made me feel like I was expected to remember the name of someone I met once, briefly, 20 years ago.... Wish I could get back my time, and money.

  6. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title off for age 17 and give it 0.0

  7. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Ohio
    I rate this title off for age 13 and give it 4.0

    Actually Pretty Good

  8. I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it 3.0

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