 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Fast Food Nation
- Review Date: March 5, 2007
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 2006
Common Sense Media says
Bloody exposé; not for kids. Want fries with that?
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
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.
What's the story?
FAST FOOD NATION follows the victims of the U.S. fast food industry. Don (Greg Kinnear), a marketer for fictionalized restaurant Mickey's, is troubled to learn of the meat packing plant's terrible working conditions and contaminations, but is told by two veterans of the business that he can't stop the corporate suits. The story of meat packing plant workers follows Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno), her sister Coco (Ana Claudia Talancón) and boyfriend Raul (Wilmer Valderrama), who endure a horrible journey across the border to find work. Coco and Raul get jobs at the plant and succumb to drug addiction because their jobs are so miserable. In another part of the picture, the counter kids at the Mickey's find their own resistance. Brian (Paul Dano) spits in the obnoxious customers' orders, but Amber (Ashley Johnson) begins to research the production process and finds new friends among college-aged eco-activists. But for all their energy and creativity in protesting, they still can't slow down the system.
Is it any good?
Unabashedly didactic, the movie creates a fictional narrative from the facts presented in Eric Schlosser's 2001 exposé of McDonald's corrupt practices, also called Fast Food Nation (a kids' version of the book was published under the title Chew On This). As it does so, it adopts seemingly meandering structure, much like other films directed by the ever-inventive Richard Linklater. Such a structure makes sense here, as it underlines the connections between the different sorts of people affected by Mickey's corner-cutting policies.
Fast Food Nation doesn't end well, but it does end powerfully. As Sylvia at last gives in and takes a job on the killing floor, she sees for the first time -- and the camera shows explicitly -- what she's been hearing about since she arrived in the U.S. It's a gruesome, unforgettable sight, and she, standing in for the rest of us, is suitably horrified.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
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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- Teens & kids
Teen, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
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.
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Teen, 14 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
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+.
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Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
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.
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Parent of 12 year old
March 9, 2011
AGE
It's stupid, miss it...
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Adult
January 8, 2012
AGE
A Very Gritty Food Documental Film.
Fast Food Nation is a movie that portrays the dramatic independancies between workers and employees at fast food themed industries and restaurants, and the stress involved in the business of making and trying to sell the "Big One", a burger. In several parts of the movie, it shows actual yet very graphic and grisly scenes of cattle being shot, skinned, dismembered, and having their organs taken out by workers in a slaughter house. There's alot of strong profanity in this film, nearly every sentence has the f-word in it. There are three sex scenes in which the slaughter house manager has sex with female employees to make him give them a job, and the aftermath of him and another female smoking drugs.
What other families should know:
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| Studio: | Fox Searchlight |
| Director: | Richard Linklater |
| Cast: | Catalina Sandino Moreno, Greg Kinnear, Wilmer Valderrama |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 106 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 16, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | March 6, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | disturbing images, strong sexuality, language and drug content. |
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