Fast Food Nation
Review by Fritz Esker
Adaptation is a much bigger screenwriting challenge than most people realize. An average person probably believes that adapting a book to screen involves basically copying the novel to screenplay format and little else. Not so. Even in relatively straightforward adaptations, tough decisions must be made about what subplots/plots to keep or delete, staying faithful to the tone of the book, conveying internal conflict without over-reliance on voice-over, etc. Fast Food Nation presents another screenwriting challenge entirely. While non-fiction books can be adapted into film, they are often non-fiction books that feature some sort of straightforward narrative that Hollywood can cling to. Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation was a highly intriguing piece of investigative journalism about the fast food industry. It prompted a nationwide examination of the food most of us eat and helped pave the way for further work on the subject, such as the 2004 documentary Super Size Me. However, the book, while quite worthwhile, has nothing resembling a traditional narrative.
Writer-director Richard Linklater, however, fearlessly took on the task of turning that book into a fictionalized feature film. Working closely with Schlosser, Linklater attempts to weave together a collection of tales from various aspects of the fast food industry (white collar guys in marketing, teens working the restaurants, illegal Mexican immigrants staffing the slaughterhouses). In other words, the film aspires to be a fast food version of Traffic. However, it made me think of this year’s An Inconvenient Truth. Both films are exceptionally well-intentioned and put together by obviously intelligent people. Sadly, though, both movies, despite being intermittently interesting, don’t quite succeed as films.
While not as sluggish as the 100-minute-Powerpoint-presentation-turned-feature-film An Inconvenient Truth, Fast Food Nation never truly establishes either a cohesive narrative or real arcs for its characters. Granted, Linklater has made a number of excellent films that don’t really feature much in the way of plot or traditional structure (Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset). However, when making an “issue” film, those elements are necessary for the film to be effective. Greg Kinnear, playing a marketing exec for the fictional fast food company, dominates the film’s first half, but then almost literally disappears from the rest of the film. The teens at the restaurant appear only very briefly in the film’s first half, but then take center stage in the second half. Sadly, neither story establishes much in the way of an arc (although the teens’ story comes closer and does feature a nice scene where the teen lead, played by Ashley Johnson, reaches a decision about her job). Finally, the lack of clear narrative drive is most obviously on display in the film’s almost astonishingly abrupt ending.
The storyline that follows the illegal immigrants (the two foremost ones are a couple played by Wilmer Valderrama and Catalina Sandina Moreno) works the best. While the other two storylines often get bogged down with characters delivering long-winded speeches, this storyline is told more effectively through conversations and several striking images. Still, there remains something cold and detached about this plotline that keeps the audience at an emotional distance (which is a shame, because this is the most wrenching subject matter).
The film features a large and talented cast, but much of that cast is given very little to do. Kinnear, who has been on a roll of late, is given little to do but ask questions and looked shocked when he finds out what is going on in order to make his company’s burgers. Actors like Bruce Willis and Kris Kristofferson are brought in for one scene, punctuated by one big speech, and then leave the film. Ethan Hawke, displaying his characteristic laid-back intellectual charm, fares the best when delivering some of the script’s speeches, but even then, you sense the script’s message is being forced onto the screen as opposed to the less intrusive approach seen in the best scenes of the immigrant storyline.
Fast Food Nation is not a bad film. Richard Linklater remains one of our most intriguing filmmakers and his willingness to take risks should be applauded. But, Fast Food Nation, despite some sporadically strong moments, ends up being one of those movies that I wished I liked more than I actually did.