West Side Presbyterian Church
Seattle, Washington

June 2004

This month's review:

• Super Size Me

Super Size Me

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”
I Corinthians 3:16-17

“Would you like to Super Size that?”

How many times have we been asked that question? How many times have we said “Sure”?

Super Size Me is a brand-new movie that takes a humorous but critical and in-depth look at the fast food industry and, ultimately, the American lifestyle. It’s a documentary but is as funny, entertaining, and hard-hitting as any movie based on a fictional idea.

Here’s the premise: Movie director Morgan Spurlock was fascinated by the recent court case in which two young women sued McDonald’s for serving “less than healthy food.” They lost their lawsuit, of course, but that didn’t deter Spurlock from carrying on the fight. He decided to test the quality of McDonald’s food by eating nothing but Golden Arches fare for one month while traveling all around the USA.

There were some basic rules that he established for himself:

1. He had to eat all meals at McDonald’s restaurants
2. He could eat no other food—no snacks, etc.
3. He had to try everything on the menu at least once
4. If a server asked him if he wanted to super size a meal, he had to say yes.

Spurlock was under the care of three doctors during the entire experiment, which is a good thing because he came close to seriously (and perhaps permanently) damaging his body. At the start of the experiment, he weighed 185; at the end 217. After the ordeal was over, he returned to healthful eating and recovered, but it took him more than eight months to get back to his original weight.

Here are some facts that emerged from Spurlock’s month-long experiment:

• There are 89 McDonald’s restaurants on the island of Manhattan. 89!
• Texas is the fattest state in the Union. West Virginia is number 3. Illinois is also near the top in fatness.
• Fast food now rivals smoking as the most serious threat to personal health in America.
• Obesity has become a major problem in the U.S.
• Fast food is spreading. It’s everywhere, including the Champs Elysees in Paris. It’s not just Americans who are susceptible to its lures.

Actually, for all the lumps the restaurant takes in this movie, Super Size Me isn’t really about McDonald’s. Mickey D’s bears the brunt of the criticism because it’s the biggest of the fast-food chains, but other establishments, e.g., Burger King and Wendy’s, are part of the problem. No, what the movie is really about is the out-of-kilter American lifestyle. As Spurlock points out, things used to be quite different in America: Moms cooked meals at home, and they were mostly nutritious. People ate out quite rarely. We didn’t have a nationwide epidemic of obesity. Now life is different. Most of us are way too busy most of the time.

As Rick Warren tells us in The Purpose Driven Life, “busyness” is one of our biggest problems: “We become preoccupied with making a living, doing our work, paying bills, and accomplishing goals as if these tasks are the point of life. They are not.” It’s easy and convenient to eat fast food, just as it’s easy and convenient to take a lot of other shortcuts. Somehow, I doubt that the Apostle Paul would be an advocate of fast food or of “busyness.” Don’t get me wrong, and don’t think I’m preaching; I like fast food (especially those McDonald’s French fries) just as well as the next person. But this movie shows that what seems easy, looks attractive, and tastes good is probably not the best thing.

In my view, Super Size Me is a must-see. It has an important message that everyone should hear.

Nonetheless, I offer these warnings: though the film is not rated and is termed “suitable for adult / teen audiences,” I counted five or six swear words, including a couple in which the Lord’s name is taken in vain. Beyond that, Spurlock and his girlfriend are living in sin, and there’s one brief sexual discussion that is embarrassing at best and ultimately objectionable. That said, I still think this is a worthwhile movie that most of us would benefit from seeing.

Rating: 3 ¼ stars

back to top

Index of movie reviews...
(2003 reviews through present)

Jay Maurer, a member of West Side Presbyterian Church, is a long-term movie buff and former college teacher of The Film as Literature. He has written movie reviews for The Good News (West Side newsletter) since 2002.

If you have comments or questions about the movie (or play) reviews, please contact Jay at dramachap@msn.com.

Ratings are expressed in increments of ¼ star.
A rating of 2 ½ stars or higher is meant to be a recommendation.
1 star: poor
2 stars: minimally satisfactory
3 stars: quite good
4 stars: superb

Criteria for determining the ratings:

• Reflection, either explicit or implicit, of Christian values, including suitability of language and lack of gratuitous violence
• Quality of the acting
• Originality
• Unity of the entire picture
• Substance, or in the words of C.S. Lewis, weight

Other Christian movie review Web sites:
Plugged In Online
ChristianityTodayMovies.com