Fast Food Nation (film)

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Fast Food Nation

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Linklater
Produced by Jeremy Thomas
Written by Eric Schlosser
Richard Linklater
Starring Wilmer Valderrama
Catalina Sandino Moreno
Bruce Willis
Greg Kinnear
Luis Guzmán
Paul Dano
Patricia Arquette
Kris Kristofferson
Ethan Hawke
Aaron Himelstein
Avril Lavigne
Music by Dean Martinez
Cinematography Lee Daniel
Editing by Sandra Adair
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release date(s) November 17, 2006
Running time 116 min.
Country Flag of the United States
Language English
Budget $24 million
Gross revenue $1,004,059
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Fast Food Nation is a 2006 fictionalized film loosely based on the non-fiction book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. It was filmed on locations in Mexico and the United States (in Texas and Colorado) under the codename Coyote.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear) is the Mickey's food restaurant chain's Marketing Director. He is the inventor of the "Big One", the best selling hamburger of Mickey's. Independent research reports the presence of cow feces in the Big One. So Don is sent to the fictional town of Cody, Colorado, to verify if the slaughterhouse, main supplier of Mickey's, is as efficient as it appears and the production process is regular. During his investigations he discovers the truth behind a simple hamburger; the reality is not like we think it is. Don discovers that the mass production system involves the exploitation of Mexican illegal immigrants. The film also shows how restaurant employees are treated and the expectations of them.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

The movie was produced by Participant Productions and Recorded Picture Company for HanWay Films and BBC Films, and was written and directed by Richard Linklater. It premiered on May 19, 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was released November 17, 2006. It made $390,000 during its opening weekend.[1] The movie uses a fictionalized approach instead of being a documentary, telling the story from the point of view of people involved in the industry. The ensemble cast includes Greg Kinnear, Bobby Cannavale, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ethan Hawke, Luis Guzmán, Patricia Arquette, Kris Kristofferson, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana Claudia Talancon, Esai Morales, Paul Dano, Wilmer Valderrama, Bruce Willis, and Avril Lavigne.

[edit] Reception

Fast Food Nation received mixed reviews[2] and was not widely distributed. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called Fast Food Nation "The most essential political film from an American director since Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11", while JoBlo's Berge Garabedian said "none of the stories in the film are interesting (except one), the ultimate lack of connection between them all is surprising and worst of all, it all just felt like a school lesson to me, taught by a condescending know-it-all." The film's rating on Rotten Tomatoes stands at 51%.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/19/box.office.ap/index.html CNN Box Office Analysis for November 19th, 2006. cnn.com. Retrieved November 19th, 2006.
  2. ^ a b Fast Food Nation - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Richard Linklater

It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1989) • Slacker (1991) • Dazed and Confused (1993) • Before Sunrise (1995) • subUrbia (1996) • The Newton Boys (1998) • Waking Life (2001) • Tape (2001) • School of Rock (2003) • Before Sunset (2004) • Bad News Bears (2005) • A Scanner Darkly (2006) • Fast Food Nation (2006) • Boyhood (~2015)