Meat, most people don’t care and don’t want to know where it came from, they just want to eat it. Fry it up, put it on a plate and chew it up. “Fast Food Nation,” based on Eric Schlosser’s best-selling novel, happens to be a thought provoking, fictionalized movie about the beef people eat. However, it will leave a bad taste in its audiences’ mouths.
Mickey’s Burger’s headquarters sends Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear) to its meat processing plant because, well, there’s sh*t in the meat. He heads to the plant to make sure that the plant’s employees are doing their jobs correctly, and to learn why there would be fecal matter in the burgers.
But there’s more to the plant than feces and meat. The plant’s employees are actually primarily comprised of illegal immigrants that get paid under the table in cash. Plant manager, Mike (Bobby Cannavale), couldn’t care less about his employees. He just wants them to do their job, keep himself out of trouble and sleep with all the cute immigrants.
Mickey’s restaurant employees aren’t perfect either. Brian (Paul Dano) is a teenager that would rather not have to work. Dropping a burger or spitting in one doesn’t bother him one bit. But Amber (Ashley Johnson) feels there’s something wrong with working at Mickey’s.
Each person has their own place in the world that is Mickey’s. As long as it’s easier for people to stop at the drive thru rather than cook a meal, and the food is still tasty, then the world can’t live without the fast food chains.
“Fast Food Nation’s” tagline -- sometimes the truth is hard to swallow -- can't be truer, but then so is adage: Ignorance is bliss.
Director Richard Linklater took the more fictionalized route with this movie. He focused on the characters rather than documenting actual meat packing plants and doing studies on meat to look for chemicals and feces. Schlosser helped Linklater with the screenplay, and the two men didn’t sugarcoat the problems of the industry.
“Fast Food Nation” could be that one movie that makes an impression on those people on the verge of becoming vegetarians, and might make a few carnivores hesitate the next time they’re at the fast food counter. The movie could be a full length PETA ad.
The large ensemble cast plays their parts perfectly, Kinnear ignores the goings on in order to keep his job, Cannavale plays the evil manager with a one track mind and Wilmer Valderrama finally takes on serious role as a working immigrant.
However, “Fast Food Nation” might have tried to tackle too many issues at once. What should people care about most: The illegal immigrants being taken advantage of, the animals being slaughtered or the unsuspecting fast food customers?
It’s a scary film, especially when it comes to the plant employees. “Fast Food Nation” is unapologetic when it comes to the treatment of these workers. One scene shows an employee getting dragged into a machine, much like other employees that are missing appendages.
Plus, in a movie about the slaughtering of cattle, it’s expected that actual slaughtering will be shown, and it is. Try to watch the movie on an empty stomach.
But "Fast Food Nation" can achieve its goal of making people think. Linklater may have tackled these points to make audiences come up with solutions. For nonfiction look at the issues, there's always Schlosser's book.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
