I had heard quite a lot about this documentary before seeing it. All good. The first thing that struck me was that it?s a very slick production. This is clearly an indy job, not some 60-minutes expose. The editing is fast-paced, especially in the early stages, before they start delving into the day-to-day culinary experience of the producer/director/star of the show, Morgan Spurlock. It?s a great (and simple) idea ? let?s see how a young, fit American male fares when faced with the challenge of eating a diet consisting of ONLY McDonald?s meals over a 30-day period; for breakfast, lunch and dinner, in as many U.S. states as he can travel to. There are a few simple rules that Morgan, the creator of this weird food-game, has to abide by:

1. He can only eat what is available over-the-counter (i.e. he can?t modify the menu by asking for ingredients to be added and/or removed).

2. If offered to ?super size? by the McDonald?s staff member serving him, he must do so, and

3. He must try EVERYTHING on the menu at least once during this 30-day period.

Well ? all I know is that he begins as something of a health nut ? usually eating organic, non-processed foods prepared by his loyal girlfriend, an organic chef. She?s frequently spoken to throughout Morgan?s ordeal and stresses accordingly at the medical statistics that tell her how badly McDonald?s food seems to be affecting her man, especially with his daily intake. Morgan has a team of dietary experts on-hand throughout this 30-day Mcbinge who regularly chart his progress. He initially ?weighs in? with a dietician and a GP to give him a starting point for this uniquely documented odyssey. After being given the OK, off he goes. In the early stages, throwing up is a stage he initially goes through, perhaps because of quantity consumed in one sitting more than anything else. I got the impression that he forces himself to eat ALL that he buys (although there?s nothing in his ?rule? book above to state that he actually HAS to), but in a way this could be seen as a basic understanding of the whole scenario, of course. Nearing the end of this regime, everyone is warning him off doing this, with bizarre readings being taken on his liver and other organs. He also stacked on weight. Again, we can only assume that he still pursues any other pre-existing exercise habits he had prior to going into this challenge, so this can?t be blamed on anything other than just eating this high-fat food, right? Overall, you?d have to see this documentary to understand the intricacies of it all ? it?s clearly explained as you go. So ? you get the idea. It?s worth the watch, easily, but mainly for the challenge Morgan sets himself, as I already thought McDonald?s generally sucked ? no surprise there for me, anyway.

Although this film takes a swipe at the fast-food industry in general, ultimately the main focus is on McDonald?s family restaurants, and that?s where this challenge begins and ends. Complete with vox-pops of the average American person-on-the-street as to their McDonald?s-eating habits, and lots of information about the McDonald?s mentality as a corporate, multi-billion dollar global force, you realise ? if you didn?t already know ? that they are an amazingly powerful economic player in world business, and aren?t keen on returning phone calls if they suspect you have anything negative to say. Well, at least this is the clear message you get from watching this documentary. Morgan makes repeated calls to one of the corporation reps but the call is never returned. I would HATE to think that Morgan would mislead us by telling us that they didn?t respond if they actually did!

Yes ? McDonald?s definitely come out of this looking like cynical, dollar-driven pricks, with no conscience, and no desire to communicate with the average punter if it doesn?t serve their economic ends. This is not an earth-shattering discovery as far as I am concerned. But I suspect Morgan isn?t trying to teach us anything new. He just wants to present all that many of us already knew about McDonald?s in a fast-paced, fact-based overview that adds an extra bit of interest by way of his wacky ?eat-it-and-die? challenge. By the way, I am an eater of McDonald?s. I have done, and will continue to do so. However, I do like to see them lampooned and criticised wherever possible, as their motives, on the whole, clearly aren?t to provide nutritious meals to their customers. Not to mention the environmental issues associated with their unchallenged dominance of the global fast-food market. Mmmm, lets fell some rainforest in order to graze McDonald?s cattle in a country that can ill-afford the environmental degradation, but ultimately can ill-afford not to take our McDonald?s money. Mmmmm. I don?t suffer any illusions about them at all. In good conscience, this is the main reason why I should stop eating their crap, not because of my health !! My choice to eat their food. My problem. So, I?m always gonna like a nay-sayer.

Let?s face it, almost all of the viewers of this documentary likely hate everything they represent already. This documentary therefore gives you the facts to keep hating them with. Eat it if in a hurry, or if you want cheap food that quells the appetite for an hour or so. That?s IT. No-one surely expects anything more than this from them? And I don?t think, deep down, that McDonald?s really want to claim to be anything else! Their relatively recent world-wide push for distribution of a nutritional pamphlet makes me laugh. Surely it?s a cynical, knee-jerk response by Mc Donald?s to mounting criticism surrounding the health value of their food. These pamphlets exist in the US, apparently, but you might be more likely to find them in the loo being used as toilet paper. Morgan includes footage of certain ?restaurants? where this info is not readily available to the public, and often not known by the employees. Of course he?s gonna include this kinda stuff in a documentary that ?has a go? at the corporation! Still, the term ?restaurant? really is a joke if your definition is anything like mine, but it?s one that EVERYONE should be able to tell by just the vaguest of looks at their public image.

If McDonald?s disappeared off the face of the earth tomorrow (I wish, but not bloody likely!), I don?t think tears would be shed, except by employees, and the kids whose McParty was cancelled. But you know kids ? they don?t see the bigger picture. It?s all ME, ME, ME. Just like Maccas, really. Yes ? some time is also spent looking at the insidious promotional methods used to suck the young ones in. BUT it?s only effective if it ultimately sucks the parents of the young ones in. Which it obviously does. It?s not only Americans that fall under their slick marketing spell, of course. It?s such a well established, production-line process that even the dimmest of parents can handle the ?arrangements? for a McBirthday party. And what a BARGAIN, eh? It?s screwed, but SO EASY! My cynicism grows with each line. If you?re a lucky, lucky parent, you might even wangle a visit from Ronald McDonald (a.k.a the jaded, acne-prone 19 year-old store manager) for your precious young?uns. Woohoo! And then there?s lots of non-biodegradable plastic toys in pointless plastic wrap to shut them up with. So don?t try and tell ME that the McDonald?s corporation don?t really care about your kids, and their future ? of COURSE they do! I?m LOVIN? it!

THE EXTRAS

Very simple ? scene selection and trailers available.

CONCLUSION

If you hate McDonald?s food, and all that the corporation represents, watch this edgy, award-winning independent documentary by Producer/Director and star Morgan Spurlock. Ever wondered what eating nothing but McDonald?s for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 days would do to your health? Or wanted some facts on the McDonald?s corporation? Well look no further! I enjoyed this slick expose of the crappier aspects of fast food. No real extras to speak of, but 96 minutes of McDocumentary should get you thinking about the nature of any multi-billion-dollar global business.