Another unanticipated consequence of living with Tivo: With an always-on list of good content, Amy and I had forgotten for the past few months that we actually like to watch movies as well. Rented Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me tonight and were awe-struck. Spurlock challenges himself to eat nothing but food from McDonald’s for an entire month, “three squares a day.” In that period, he gains 24.5 pounds, nearly destroys his liver, shocks his doctors, endures depression, mood swings, and generates 13 garbage bags full of packaging material. His vegan girlfriend even talks candidly about how his erections lose steam over the course of the month.
The film has a few sidebars on topics like the frightening state of modern school lunch programs and the power of the processed food industry’s lobbiests over government. Funny MOS interviews with people who have no idea what a calorie is. But it doesn’t touch the immense companion topic of factory farming, which seemed a bit strange. Focus here is really on personal health. Part of what makes the doc work is that there’s nothing pedantic about Spurlock – he’s a regular guy, unashamed to admit that McDonald’s food tastes great. He’s not preachy, just straight up and ready to turn himself into a guinea pig, even though it half kills him.