Super Size Me (2004)

Director:

Morgan Spurlock

Writer:

Morgan Spurlock (written by)

Release Date:

21 May 2004 (Canada)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A film of epic portions.

Plot:

While examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.

Plot Keywords:

Fast Food | Obesity | Food Industry | School | Meal

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Morgan Spurlock	...	Himself
Daryl Isaacs	...	Himself (as Daryl M. Isaacs MD Internal Medicine)
Lisa Ganjhu	...	Herself (as Lisa Ganjhu D.O. Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist)
Stephen Siegel	...	Himself (as Steven Siegel MD FACC Cardiologist)
Bridget Bennett	...	Herself (as Bridget Bennett R.D.)
Eric Rowley	...	Himself, exercise physiologist
Mark Fenton	...	Himself, former editor, Walking
Alexandra Jamieson	...	Herself - Morgan's Girlfriend (as Healthy Chef Alex)
John Banzhaf	...	Himself - lawyer (as John F. Banzhaf III)
David Satcher	...	Himself - former Health Minister (as Dr. David Satcher)
Lisa Young	...	Herself - nutrition professor (as Dr. Lisa Young)
Kelly Brownell	...	Himself
Jacob Sullum	...	Himself - journalist
Tommy Thompson	...	Himself - US Secretary of Health
William J. Klish	...	Himself - medicine doctor (as William Klish)
Jared Fogle	...	Himself - spokesman for Subway
John Robbins	...	Himself - journalist and writer
Don Gorske	...	Himself - hearty eater of big macs
Mary Gorske	...	Herself - Don's wife
Ron English	...	Himself - painter
Margo Wootan	...	Herself (as Dr. Margo Wootan)
Marion Nestle	...	Herself
Barbara Brown	...	Herself - SODEXHO executive
Kay Glover	...	Herself, head cook
Greg Bretthauer	...	Himself, dean
Debra Larson	...	Herself, school social worker
Paul Stitt	...	Himself (voice)
Marlene Canter	...	Herself
Gene Grabowski	...	Himself - GMA deputy CEO
Phil Lawler	...	Himself, phys ed instructor
Brian Philips	...	Himself - physical training instructor
Gerald N. Tirozzi	...	Himself
Neal Barnard	...	Himself
Catherine Schilcher	...	Herself, nutritionist (voice)
Bruce Howlett	...	Himself - fat patient
Adam Naaman	...	Himself
Carl Geisler	...	Himself - surgeon
Lisa Howard	...	Herself, McDonald's spokesman (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Bollino	...	Herself - Naperville High School restaurant supervisor
Caitlin	...	Herself - waitress for McDonald's
Samuel Hirsch	...	Himself - lawyer
Tammy Howlett	...	Bruce's wife
Michael Jordan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ronald McDonald	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ashley Sandy	...	Herself
Kacie Sandy	...	Herself
Laura Sandy	...	Herself
Kymme Simchak	...	Herself
Britney Spears	...	Herself (archive footage)

Directed by
Morgan Spurlock

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Morgan Spurlock		written by

Produced by
Joe Morley	....	executive producer
Dave Pederson	....	associate producer
David Pederson	....	associate producer
Morgan Spurlock	....	producer
Heather M. Winters	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Scott Ambrozy		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Stela Georgieva
Julie Bob Lombardi

Art Direction by
Joe the Artist

Production Management
Michael Jackman	....	post-production supervisor
Stuart Macphee	....	post-production supervisor

Art Department
Ron English	....	McPaintings

Sound Department
Martin Czembor	....	sound engineer
Hans ten Broeke	....	sound designer

Visual Effects by
Robert Luttrell	....	digital film transfer supervisor
Jonah Tobias	....	digital artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Tracy Boulian	....	camera operator
Avi Gerver	....	camera operator
Julie Bob Lombardi	....	additional video footage
Julie Soefer	....	camera operator
Morgan Spurlock	....	additional video footage

Animation Department
Svilen Dimitrov	....	animator
George Georgiev	....	animation liaison: US
Goran Kissiov	....	supervising animator
Nikolai Lukianov	....	animation project manager: Zographic
Paulina Merekiova	....	assistant project manager: Zographic
Kalin Stoyanov	....	animator
Ivailo Tonchev	....	animator
Svetoslav Tonchev	....	animator
Kiril Yanakiev	....	supervising animator
Kiril Yanakiev	....	technical director: Zographic

Editorial Department
Haven Cousins	....	colorist
Thomas Edmon	....	digital intermediate supervisor (as Tom Edmon)
Jim Finn	....	negative cutter
Gwen Fry	....	high definition transfer
Grant Goodman	....	assistant editor
Richard Haylock	....	on-line editor
Abbi Jutkowitz	....	assistant editor
Corey Lincoln	....	post-production assistant
Alexander Livingston	....	post-production assistant
Robert Luttrell	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Mick O'Conner	....	high definition transfer
Olivia Relova	....	assistant editor
Ben Vaughn	....	high definition transfer
Matt Woo	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Jim Black	....	music consultant
Folkfoot	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Albert Bramante	....	research assistant
Sean Connell	....	creative consultant
Joseph De Vito	....	creative consultant
Winston Emano	....	publicist
David Magdael	....	publicist
Steven Wallace	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Kathbur Pictures
• Con, The
• Studio On Hudson (in association with)

Distributors

• Roadside Attractions (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Showtime Independent Films (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• ABL Augusta (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Aerofilms (2006) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Bazuca Films (2005) (Chile) (theatrical)
• Bir Film (2004) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Diaphana Films (France) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• EDKO Film (2004) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Fandango (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Golden Village (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Notro Films (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Prokino Filmverleih (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Solar Films (2004) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Arts Alliance (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Hart Sharp Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Imagem Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Imagem Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2004) (Japan) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Phantom Film (2004) (Japan) (all media)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2005) (Finland) (VHS)
• Showtime Networks (USA) (TV)
• Sony Canada (2004) (Canada) (VHS)
• Sony U.K. Ltd. (2004) (UK) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Special Effects

• PIXAN.com (digital effects)

Other Companies

• Devlin Video  high definition transfers (as Devlin Video International)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Heavy Light Digital  digital intermediate and film transfer (as HeavyLight Digital)
• Kinkysweet Recordings  soundtrack
• LVT  subtitles: French version
• Red Cottage Productions  audio post-production
• Sound One  post-production sound facility
• Zographic Film  animation

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sex and drug references, and a graphic medical procedure. (original version); Rated PG for thematic elements, a disturbing medical procedure, and some language. (educationally enhanced version)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Czech Republic:15 | Sweden:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Chile:14 | Iceland:L | Finland:K-3 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:PG | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | USA:PG-13 (original rating) | USA:PG (educationally enhanced version)

Filming Locations:

Appleton, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

Kathbur Pictures

Trivia:

In the animated sequence that explains the details of McDonalds "Heavy Users" and "Super Heavy Users", one of the cartoon figures is Don Gorske.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Worcester, Massachusetts is incorrectly spelled "Worchester" in the film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Children: A Pizza Hut! A Pizza Hut! Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut! A Pizza Hut! A Pizza Hut! Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut! McDonalds! McDonalds! Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut! McDonalds! McDonalds! Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut! I like food! I like food! Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut! You like food! You like food! Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut!

Movie Connections:

Features The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Scared Silly (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

Fat

Please don't

This documentary film by Morgan Spurlock asks the intriguing and topical question: What would happen to a normal 33-year-old man in perfect health who stands six feet two and weighs 185 pounds if he ate nothing but McDonald's fast food for thirty days?

Well, it is not recorded that he shrunk. In fact, Spurlock, forsaking his vegan girlfriend's healthy cuisine, gained about 25 pounds and saw his cholesterol level shoot up to dangerous levels as he huffed and puffed his way three times a day through myriad Big Macs and fillet o' fish sandwiches, milk shakes, sodas, fries and other not-so-delicate items from the menu of the world's largest purveyor of fast food. He had hired three doctors and a registered dietician to check his vital signs and give him a thorough physical exam prior to this experiment in not-so-fine dining. Before the gorging was done all three doctors and the dietician advised him in the most uncertain terms for the sake of his health to stop eating the sugar-laden, fat-smeared, nearly fiber-free "diet." But Spurlock, trooper that he is, amid the McTingles and the McPukes, hung in there until the very end.

I can report that he survived the experience. Whether the viewer will is another matter. If you yourself (God help you) are seriously overweight you might want to pass on this excruciatingly detailed misadventure under the Golden Arches. All that fat slapping against those waddling thighs (Spurlock mercifully fuzzed out the faces of his subjects, allowing us only body shots), all that jiggling flesh under those XXXL garments might be too uncomfortably close to home for some sensitive viewers.

But was this a fair test of the harmful consequences of eating Happy Meals and being super sized? After all, Spurlock eschewed exercise during the experiment, and of course nobody (?) actually eats every meal at McDonald's as Spurlock did. Furthermore he actually doubled his normal caloric intake from about 2500 calories a day to about 5000. Regardless I think we can say that his experience was indicative.

The real question to be asked here (and Spurlock asks it) is whether McDonald's (or as some have dubbed thee) whether McDeath's can be or should be held responsible for the epidemic of obesity that is sweeping the country. Spurlock implies that McDonald's should be held responsible at least for its advertising aimed at children. I agree with this. But I also think that adults ought to know what they are doing. If they choose to chow down at a place that loves to super size and under nourish them, perhaps they themselves should be held responsible for the consequences. However, some people feel that the advertising has been so insidious for so long and the food so addictive to susceptible individuals that McDonald's ought to be taken to court just as the tobacco companies have been.

For more information on the epidemic, its consequences, and what can be done about it, I refer the interested reader to The Hungry Gene: The Science of Fat and the Future of Thin by Ellen Ruppel Shell; Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fastest People in the World by Eric Critser; and Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser. Schlosser appears in one of the bonus features being interviewed by Spurlock. This interview is one of the highlights of the DVD. Schlosser is articulate, candid, and very well-informed.

Spurlock of course is a performer as well as a film maker. His directorial style owes something to that of Michael Moore, and his playful on-camera muggings remind me of Ian Wright of PBS's Globe Trekker series.

See this as an introduction to this most serious threat to the nation's health, especially as it affects children. Morgan Spurlock is to be commended for bringing the reality of the epidemic to the attention of the general public.

By the way, "McTingles" are those highflying, scary feelings you get after rapidly injecting massive amounts of pure sugar and caffeine into your system, usually by gulping your way through a 64-ounce McCola--and to think when I was a kid, Coca-Cola came in six-ounce bottles. How ever did we survive? "McPukes" are self-explanatory.