The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 5
Wilmer, Wilmer. We'll take you seriously when you stop doing shows like "Yo Momma." Promise.
UNDERWHELMING ADAPTATION HAS NO AFTERTASTE
If he gets you to
think, he's happy
By JEFFREY BLOOMER fundamentally unhealthy product,"
Managing Editor he said. "I think it'll shake itself out
within a generation when it comes
It's kind of a rite of passage. to food."
The first job, behind the counter, And it's not just what the industry
$6 an hour to throw a frozen chunk is peddling. It's how it's peddling it.
of "meat" into a grease pit and serve "McDonald's is saying'freedomof
it to an impatient caravan filled with (our) menu' right now, because you
grade-school kids. It's a dirty job, can order a salad. Which is kind of
but someone has to do it. admitting everything else isn't good
Not Richard Linklater. No, but he for you. But you do have freedom.
wishes he would have. Not that their marketing dollars go
"I worked in restaurants that toward that - their marketing dol-
were crappy enough to be fast food, lars go toward lower-income people
like a little crappy diner," he said. and their 99-cent burger."
"I was always the bus boy or dish- There's also a silent victim here:
washer. I think fast food would have the workers behind mass-produc-
been nicer, actually." tion industries, who work for little
Linklater, the man behind films payunder dangerous conditions.
as varied as "Dazed and Confused," "Our culture is now divided,"
"Before Sunset" and last summer's Linklater said. "You're going to have
"A Scanner Darkly," is now in the- moneyed people and a huge service
aters for the second time this year sector as we kind of split as our cul-
with "Fast Food Nation," a fic- ture."
tionalized take on Eric Schlosser's What does Linklater expect his
muckraking bestseller. From the audience to take from this? What's
disaffected teen stuck in a fast-food the difference between the inde-
joint called Mickey's to a group of pendent filmmaker and Joe College
illegals who travel north for numb- Student,stuck in a haze on hisdorm-
ing work in a meat factory, the film room floor when he could be going
chronicles the various ills of the straight to the source for change?
American fast-food industry. There isn't one. But we all have
Another rite of passage: sit- our own vice, Linklater said, and
ting around in a dorm room, joint each of us tries to affect change in
optional, teasing out social issues our ownway. Linklater'svice is film,
because you can. It's the East Quad which is why he's taken Schlosser's
archetype - self-consciously long book and reinvented it in this way.
hair, balking at economic dispari- "I think books (and) documen-
ties while at one of the nation's best tary films have a better shot at spe-
schools onyour parents' dime, refin- cifically changing the way people
ing your vegan diet. think," he said. "But I think what
Ithappens in "Fast Food Nation," narrative films do quite well is
with a high schooler sick of her job reflect changing times, reflect pub-
heading over to the local university licsentiments, reflectkind ofwhat's
to knock a few back and contemplat- in the air. I don't know if they lead
ing the local meat plant. As naive as the charge, but they reflect what's
it might seem, Linklater is quick to going on."
point out that it's also an ideal only That said, he doesn't think of
seditious undergrads could achieve. himself as an activist. Or, for that
"They're specifically talk- matter, a political figure.
ing activist, political talk to some "I'm not running for office any-
degree. They're planning some kind time, don't worry," Linklater said.
of action," he said. "(Think about) Most important, he just wants
the freedom of that. It's one of the people to think. His film, perhaps
only times in your life you're unat- more so than the book, is a cross-
tached from the corporate world, section of American life filled with
and you can kind of see things clear- people not radical, not polarized,
ly, identify injustice as you see it." but simply looking at the mechan-
The first step, Linklater argues, ics of the fast-food industry for the
is recognizing the problem. And the firsttime.
way he sees it, there are a lot of them For the most part, they don't like
in the fast-food industry. what they see. And Linklater's bet-
"I think you're talking about a ting you won't, either.
By ELIE ZWIEBEL
Daily Arts Writer
Eric Schlosser's 2001 expose "Fast Food
Nation: The Dark Side of
the All-American Meal" **4i>
did at the turn of the
20th century what Upton Fast Food
Sinclair's "The Jungle" Nation
did at the turn of the At the State
19th: reveal the gruesome Theater
truths behind one of the Fox Searchlight
country's biggest food
industries.
The book's cinematic adaptation, however,
fails creatively to flesh out its sociopolitical
commentary. Directed by Richard Linklater
(see interview at right), "Fast Food Nation"
brings the book's detailed imagery of labor
exploitation, oppressive working conditions
and capitalistic corruption into harsh and
often gory fruition.
Multiple stories reveal the steps it takes to
produce a hamburger and the lives involved:
Raul and Sylvia, an illegal immigrant couple
(Wilmer Valderrama, "That 70s Show," and
Catalina Sandino Moreno, "Maria Full of
Grace"), work in hazardous conditions just
to eke out a buck; Don Anderson, the CEO of
fictional fast-food franchise Mickey's (Greg
Kinnear, "Little Miss Sunshine"), struggles
through the moral qualms of discovering that
Mickey's meat is contaminated with fecal chlo-
roform (essentially, cow shit); Amber, a Mick-
ey's employee and high school senior (Ashley
Johnson, "What Women Want"), discovers
how hyperbolic collegiate political awareness
can be. Each step criticizes a different aspect
of the United States' capitalistic economy and
social atmosphere.
With a somber and occasionally bloody tone,
Linklater's film alternates between satire and
the sort of sensationalistic propaganda that
plagues a Michael Moore film. It's as if Lin-
klater wasn't sure if he should try to rival Jason
Reitman's smart "Thank You For Smoking"
send-up or make his own serious commentary
on American politics. "Fast Food" is void of
the sarcastic and ironic narrative of the smug
"inside" man in "Smoking."
But when Linklater stops forcing the humor,
he produces some poignant shots. Consider the
opening sequence: a Mickey's hops with cus-
tomers, and the camera zooms into a porous
section of hamburger. Slowly, the image fades
to a dog running through a dilapidated Mexi-
can street, setting the tone for the film's depic-
tion of Americans who are oblivious to their
food's content and introducing the film's signa-
ture use of frank juxtaposition.
Linklater continuously parallels the experi-
ences of an American CEO or white teenager
with those of the Mexican grunt workers. Per-
haps the most poignant comparison in the film
comes from a fade between shots of Raul's
arduous labor in the packaging plant and the
seemingly endless fields of cattle on a ranch in
Cody, Colorado. The meat industry completely
disregards the well-being of its workers. To
CEOs, the grunts are worth less than cattle:
They cost money and offer no meat.
There are appearances from Bruce Wil-
lis ("16 Blocks"), Luis Guzmin ("Harold and
Kumar Go To White Castle"), Patricia Arquette
(TV's "Medium"), Ethan Hawke ("Before Sun-
set") and a bevy of other random celebrities
- hell, even Kris Kristofferson ("Blade") and
Avril Lavigne appear, as a disillusioned rancher
and an impassioned but naive college student,
respectively. No one in the large crowd, how-
ever, stands out as an acting sensation. Paul
Dano ("Little Miss Sunshine") offers a comedic
insight into the life of a disgruntled high school
burger-flipper, but it's all too brief. "Fast Food
Nation" ends up a prime example of the very
principle its subject matter criticizes - quan-
tity is no replacement for quality.
The real
way to do
medical
dramas
By MARK SCHULTZ
Daily Arts Writer
-
During an argument over the
best surgery to perform on a
patient, Dr.
Jonathan
Seger (Mark
Feuerstein, 3 Lbs.
"In Her
W~ "I Her Tuesdays at
Shoes") snide- 1sdym.
ly remarks to 10 P.M.
his colleague,
Dr. Douglas
Hansen (Stanley Tucci, "The Devil
Wears Prada"), "We do things dif-
ferently, Doug." To which Doug
snarkily replies, "That's the first
useful thing you've said since
you've got here."
So begins the inevitable war of
doctors' ideals that pervades most
medical dramas. But "3 Lbs." isn't
about sass-mouthed residents
or cocky doctors. It's about real
relationships and feelings doctors
must deal with each day, and that's
what makes it the most unique
medical drama to hit television
since "E.R."
"3 Lbs." focuses on veteran doc-
tor Hansen and his new assistant
Seger, as well as sexy Dr. Adri-
anne Holland (Indira Varma,
"Basic Instinct 2"). These doc-
tors aren't typical George Cloo-
neys up to their wrists in human
organs - they deal with the more
complex, less glamorous world of
neurosurgery. Like "Grey's Anat-
omy" and "ER" before it, "3 Lbs."
gives more screen time to doctor-
patient interactions than actual
surgery, not an easy task when the
patient in question is often unable
to communicate properly. Also
reminiscent of past medical shows
are no-nonsense, smart-ass Dr.
Hansen and earnest, handsome
From the man behind 'Babe,'
a new, colorful kid's epic
Bet you can't wait for some cross-promotion with "CSI."
Dr. Sege
good-su
equally:
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medical
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sense tf
represen
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Ar
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become
constant
fall in l
a regula
real me
comes c
little of t
drama t
mately d
r, both of whom play the to becoming second-rate soap
rgeon, bad-surgeon roles operas. The show gives viewers a
convincingly. real sense of the characters with-
rhat "3 Lbs." has that other out forcing schmaltzy subplots
shows wish they had is a down their throat, and creates
intangible authenticity, a drama and intrigue in an authen-
hat this show accurately tic, uncontrived way.
ts the world of neurosur- This show adds other unique
iewers of "Grey's Anato- aspects to the general formula of
medical shows. Its bizarre dream
sequences, as well as Dr. Hansen's
nedical show inexplicable hallucinations, add a
delightfully surreal element that
with heart. further vaults it past the tedium of
most medical dramas.
Imagine. This show's main problem is
its market. Of course, television
is already saturated with medi-
cal dramas, and fans who give "3
bably know that medical Lbs." only a surface look might not
and doctors don't really see anything new. The gruff Dr.
tangled in love triangles, Hansen might strike viewers as
tly insult each other or a poor man's Gregory House, and
ove with their patients on Dr. Holland may come off as the
r basis. "Grey's" isn't a typical inexplicably sexy TV doc-
dical show, but "3 Lbs." tor whose only purpose is to invite
lose to being one. It has sexual tension. But if viewers look
he sharp dialogue or daily beyond this show's predictable
hat viewers love but ulti- exterior they will find a medical
looms most medical shows show with heart and class.
By BLAKE GOBLE
Daily Arts Writer
It sings. It dances. And with its
onslaught of
Antarctic pen- **
guins, "Happy
Feet' deftly Happy Feet
capitalizes on At the Showcase
Hollywood's and Quality16
newfound Warner Bros.
infatuation
with the adorable tuxedo-clad
birds.
The musical is corny and a little
sappy. But within the first few min-
utes, we understand that this will
be a film about connecting with
others and finding acceptance -
and not without some sweet-heart-
ed laughs, either.
Mumble Happyfeet (Elijah
Wood, "Lord of the Rings"), son
of Memphis (Hugh Jackman, "X-
Men") and Norma Jean (Nicole
Kidman, "The Hours"), was born
under one bad sign - Memphis
Penguins: the
latest go-to cute
creature.
almost loses Mumble's egg in win-
ter. Worse, when actually hatched,
Mumbles discovers he is unable to
sing, a terrible handicap in a com-
munity where would-be parents
find mates through song (with
tunes varying from Ricky Martin
to Grandmaster Flash).
Mumble, however, can tap-
dance. Really well. How couldn't
he when guided via motion capture
technology by tap maestro Savion
Glover ("Bring in Da Noise, Bring
in Da Funk")? But his special abil-
ity is not appreciated by the rest of
the penguin community. His father
even begs him not to tap, saying
that it's "just not penguin."
Meanwhile, the community
itself is in a different sort of pre-
dicament. Their fish supply is on
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
"For every mile you drive in your SUV, three of my brothers die."
the decline due to environmental
degradation caused by humans
(and into the spotlightcby obviously
left-leaning filmmakers). Mumbles
then embarks on a surprisingly
dangerous quest to fix the situa-
tion, although - in true movie-
quest fashion - he's accompanied
by a rag-tag crew of friends.
Along with pal Ramon (Robin
Williams, "Aladdin"), fast-talking
Latino archetype who steals the
show, Mumbles escapes whales,
an oil tanker and the jaws of a seal.
There's some legitimately scary
stuff in here, but ultimately the
movie boasts an optimistic world-
view.
The film also offers magnifi-
cent animation, surprising given
the fact that you'd assume an all-
white atmosphere would be kind of
bland on film. Where the "Ice Age"
films are baroque and angular in
their visuals, "Happy Feet" is the
impressionist painting of animat-
ed movies, freely swirling colors
amid its natural imagery. Director
George Miller (co-creator of the
wonderful "Babe" movies) has put
together a fine family classic,bring-
ing together great performances, a
profound and sincere stance on our
environment and, best of all, a real-
ly surprisingly strong soundtrack.
Any film that earns new music by
Prince is doing something good,
right?
I