I really expected to like Fast Food Nation, and to get all worked up about the issues presented. I loved Super Size Me, and can go on and on (with a bit of encouragement) about the many negative effects of our fast food culture. But this film puzzled me while I was watching it, and left me with no take away.
The puzzling aspects mostly came from a lack of fluidity and connectiveness in the movie. I kept expecting everything to come together in a more meaningful and natural way, but the various narratives and characters felt disjointed to the end. It seemed so contrived. There were also some characters and plot developments that didn't seem to serve a purpose at all (even though I had faith and kept expecting it all to make sense). Meaningless developments were belabored, while moments that could have been developed into something significant were skimmed over.
Which brings me to the lack of take-away messages. Sure, meat processing plants are disgusting. Sure, thinking about what goes on in them makes you think twice about biting into your next burger. But none of this is enlightening. The film doesn't drive home the fact that it's our American desire to get lots of food for almost nothing that creates the problem in the meat industry. It doesn't make you question what's more important, and what are we willing to sacrifice. It didn't touch on problemmatic government regulations (even when the system is at its best, what the government says is okay really isn't okay!). And the movie doesn't give hope or inspiration when it comes to changing any of this. Some people will say raising awareness of the situation is the first step, but this movie could have done so much more.