Super Size Me

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Three days into his quest to eat nothing but McDonald’s food for a month, Morgan Spurlock accepts his first invitation to “super-size� his meal. But within 30 minutes of downing his Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, half-pound of fries and 42-ounce Coke, he throws up the “McLead� he felt in his stomach.

Spurlock survived his 30-day binge, but not before gaining 25 pounds, raising his cholesterol to dangerous levels, and endangering his liver and heart. Physicians monitoring his health and his girlfriend, a vegan chef, urged him to stop after three weeks. His gastronomical trials and tribulations are portrayed in the independent documentary “Super Size Me,� which debuted in January 2004 at the Sundance Film Festival, where Spurlock was named best director.

In nationwide release since May, this Mc-raking documentary succeeds by combining information we’ve all heard about nutrition with biting moments that taste as good as … well, fast food itself, minus any lingering aftertaste or unhealthy side effects.

The 1-hour-and-40-minute film represented quite an education for the 12-, 10- and 7-year-old girls who attended my viewing. The film captivated them. Some moments shocked them. (A middle-school student claims fries are her daily vegetable. Teen-age girls stumble over the words to the Pledge of Allegiance, before flawlessly reciting McDonald’s mantra -- “two all-beef patties, special sauce …�) But there were some inappropriate parts, including some profanity, way too much filming of Spurlock’s medical exams, and his girlfriend’s discussion of the diet’s impact on his sex life. The theatrical release is perhaps equivalent to a PG-13 film.

That’s why a “family-friendly� DVD version is available in addition to standard versions. The filmmakers plan to market it to public schools, beefed up with more than an hour of additional content, including an interview with Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation,� which inspired the film.

In a nation where over-eating is overtaking smoking as the No. 1 preventable cause of death, Spurlock sought to replicate a diet that many Americans eat too frequently, although not for every meal in a month. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder began his film journey in “above average� health for a 33-year-old, according to physicians who monitored his progress. He had three rules:

· Eat only what is on McDonald’s menus.

· “Super size� meals only when asked. (Servers offered him that option nine times during the month.)

· Sample every item on McDonald’s menu (including bottled water and salads) at some point during the month.

Still, this diet plan frequently had Spurlock consuming twice his daily limit of calories. He reported feeling lethargic and depressed, saying that the only time he felt good was when he was consuming another Big Mac. One doctor said the damage occurring to Spurlock’s liver reminded him of what happened to Nicholas Cage’s binging alcoholic in “Leaving Las Vegas.� (Even with cooking from his vegan girlfriend, Spurlock needed about a year to return to normal girth.)

McDonald’s responded to what already is the fourth-highest grossing U.S. documentary with an advertising campaign. It ended its “super size� options six weeks after the film’s debut, insisting the step was unrelated, and recently introduced a new line of “premium salads,� including one that contains more calories than a Big Mac.

This documentary raises anew questions for we who believe one cannot live by bread alone, Why are so many of us eating ourselves to death when others cannot find adequate calories to survive? Are we getting “more with less� when it comes to nutrition by not monitoring the nature (calories, sodium and fat content, for example) of food we consume for the sake of convenience? And why is it that super-sized Christians are among the most prolific at condemning the sins of others? Pecan log, anyone?

One heart-burning question remains for this reviewer: How would someone fare trying to live for 30 days on nothing but church potlucks? I suspect not much better.

—Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections