fun·ny[fuhn-ee]
1. providing fun; causing amusement or laughter; amusing; comical: a funny remark; a funny person.
Completely missing from that definition is any mention of slaughter houses or actual footage of cows being killed, mutilated and processed for cheap burger meat. That definition also leaves out the plight of Mexicans walking through the dessert in an attempt to find a better life in America only to be forced into horrible jobs with nothing to look forward to but crank addiction once they get here.
Apparently someone at the New York Times finds the above scenarios from the movie Fast Food Nation to be "Funny".
Fast Food Nation presents an entirely humorless look at the fast food industry through the eyes of several different socio-economic groups ranging from industry executives to illegal immigrants forced to work in meat processing plants. Its a wonderful, eye-opening film written and directed by Richard Linklater. I went into the movie feeling smug self righteousness because I don't eat fast food. I left the movie feeling icky and considering becoming a vegetarian - sounds funny right?
This seems like one of those important films that you should see and I'm glad I watched it. I just want to spare anyone out there who is in the mood for a National Lampoon style funny movie with lots of fart and boob jokes from making the same mistake I did. I thought a movie with the word "Funny" printed on the cover of the DVD case would have a few jokes and gags or at least a little less slaughter and oppressive life stories.
I hear you....it was a totally depressing movie and it would have pissed me off if I hadn't been prepared for what it was. I had read the book, and was really puzzled why the movie wasn't just a straight up documentary, cause the book was not a dramatized story like the movie was.
ReplyDeleteKitty - We really were hoping for something along the lines of Grandma's Boy so you can imagine our disappointment.
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