DIRECTED BY Morgan Spurlock
STARRING Morgan Spurlock Opens September 10, Cert 12A, 98 mins
This has been the year of the documentary, with Fahrenheit 9/11, Capturing The Friedmans, Bus 174, The Fog Of War and Control Room stealing thunder and prestige away from Hollywood’s traditional output. Now add to that list Super Size Me?New York film-maker Morgan Spurlock’s award-winning assault on America’s fast-food culture.
Prompted by a lawsuit launched against the Golden Arches by two overweight teenage girls, on the grounds that eating McDonald’s was the cause of their obesity, Spurlock undertook to eat a McDonald’s-only diet for a month?three square meals a day ordered from their menu, with a stipulation that he had to accept any offer of the mega Super Size option.
Before starting his mischievous experiment, Spurlock?whose girlfriend, a professional vegan chef, clearly considered the project to be dangerous lunacy?had himself checked out by a team of medics, scoring well on blood pressure, cholesterol count and heart-rate. Although his doctors counselled against the McDonald’s binge, no one could foresee the speed and scale of its negative effects. Shockingly, Spurlock gained 10lb within five days, and began to suffer chest pains, palpitations and headaches. His cholesterol boomed, and his blood pressure could have landed the starring role in The China Syndrome. His horrified GP discovered that Spurlock’s liver, inundated by the onslaught of sugar and fat, was turning to p