Super Size Me (2004)

NEUTRAL

Various

84%

PG-13

2004, Documentary, 1h 38m

RT Critics’ Score: 92% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 72%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
7 wins & 13 nominations total

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Critics Consensus

Entertaining doc about the adverse effects of eating fast food

Audience Consensus

Super Size Me is a hilarious and eye-opening documentary that will make you think twice about your fast food habits. Morgan Spurlock’s experiment of eating only McDonald’s for a month is both entertaining and informative, with quirky animations and a dry wit that keeps you engaged. While it may not be the most well-researched documentary out there, it’s definitely worth a watch if you want to learn more about the harmful effects of fast food on your body. Plus, who doesn’t love a good laugh at the expense of the Golden Arches?

Storyline

Several legal suits have been brought against McDonald’s Restaurants that they are knowingly selling food that is unhealthy. Some of the court decisions have stated that the plaintiffs would have a claim if they could prove that eating the food every day for every meal is dangerous. As such, documentarian Morgan Spurlock conducts an unscientific experiment using himself as the guinea pig: eat only McDonald’s for thirty days, three meals a day. If he is asked by the clerk if he would like the meal super sized, he has to say yes. And by the end of the thirty days, he will have had to have eaten every single menu item at least once. Before starting the experiment, he is tested by three doctors – a general practitioner, a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist – who pronounce his general health to be outstanding. They will also monitor him over the thirty days to ensure that he is not placing his health into irreparable damage. He also consults with a dietitian/nutritionist and an exercise physiologist, the latter who also deems him to be above average fitness. As it mimics the lifestyle of those who eat fast food, he will also do no exercise for the thirty days, limiting himself to under 5,000 steps per day (the approximate equivalent of 2½ miles). These health and medical experts have some predictions about his general health and wellness by the end of the experiment. His vegan chef girlfriend also has some predictions about how this experiment will affect his mood and therefore their relationship. As he goes through the experiment, he speaks to a number of people – many experts in their respective fields – on the pros and cons of the fast food lifestyle. Just over halfway through the experiment, it is evident that even the experts can be wrong, and not in a good way.

Production Company(ies)
Evergreen Pictures, Candescent Films, Artemis Rising Foundation

Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Company

Release Type
Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Appleton, Wisconsin, USA

MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for language, sex and drug references, and a graphic medical procedure

Year of Release
2004

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

Dolby SR
Aspect ratio:

1.78 : 1
Runtime:

1h 38m
Language(s):

English
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): May 7, 2004 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 2004

Genre(s)
Documentary

Keyword(s)
documentary, fast food, McDonald’s, obesity, health, Morgan Spurlock, directed by Morgan Spurlock, written by Morgan Spurlock, produced by Morgan Spurlock, starring Morgan Spurlock, Heather M Winters, reviewed by Antonia Quirke, Nell Minow, Nick Schager, Leslie Felperin, Jeannette Catsoulis, Jonathan Trout, Richard Propes, Felix Vasquez Jr., Robert Davis, Joe Lozito, Amber Wilkinson, Prairie Miller, PG-13, box office gross $11.5M, budget, Samuel Goldwyn Company, English, Neptune Frost, 18 1/2, H.P Lovecraft’s Witch House, Stay Prayed Up, The Sea Beast, Moon, 66 Questions, Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, The Road to Galena, Dangerous Liaisons, Jewel, Warriors on the Field, Fair Play

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $20,645,757
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $32,568,401
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,517
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,551,625

US/Canada gross: $11,536,423
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $18,198,551
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,441
US/Canada opening weekend: $516,641
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $814,994
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,300

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $65,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $102,537
Production budget ranking: 2,144
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $55,216
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $32,410,649
ROI to date (est.): 20,545%
ROI ranking: 4

Cast & Crew

Morgan Spurlock

Heather M. Winters

Self

Director

Writer

Producer

Executive Producer

Morgan Spurlock – Self, Director, Writer, Producer
Heather M. Winters – Executive Producer

Morgan Spurlock

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Morgan Spurlock

Writer(s)
Morgan Spurlock

Producer(s)
Morgan Spurlock

Film Festivals
Toronto

Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
7 wins & 13 nominations total

Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees

Top Reviews

Antonia Quirke

Nell Minow

Nick Schager

Leslie Felperin

Jeannette Catsoulis

London Evening Standard

Common Sense Media

Lessons of Darkness

Sight & Sound

Las Vegas Mercury

SUPER SIZE ME
All Critics (171) | Top Critics (49) | Fresh (158) | Rotten (13)
For all the film’s lecturing about the rise in diabetes and good and bad fats, you suspect that its director is secretly just having a laugh with the whole thing.

December 14, 2017

Antonia Quirke
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Fascinating documentary on American fast food.

December 28, 2010 | Rating: 4/5

Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Might help shake the Mcfaithful out of their special sauce stupors.

May 4, 2005

Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
It’s the film and its hero’s honest approach that make the package so persuasive.

October 6, 2004

Leslie Felperin
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Super Size Me is, on one level, a cinematic stunt in the tradition of Michael Moore’s populist, anti-corporate crusades.

September 12, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/5

Jeannette Catsoulis
Las Vegas Mercury
TOP CRITIC
A wonderful achievement — entertaining, engrossing, and never far from grossing out.

August 24, 2004 | Rating: 4/5

Jonathan Trout
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
I think McDonald’s is safe.

September 24, 2020 | Rating: 3.0/4.0

Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
May affect how you eat and will serve as a rude awakening…

April 29, 2009

Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
I’m willing to believe Spurlock’s hypothesis … but someday I’d like to see a well-researched documentary as lively as this one on the harmful effects of pseudo-science in the media.

June 3, 2008 | Rating: 3/5

Robert Davis
Paste Magazine
December 27, 2007 | Rating: 3/4

Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Through the use of quirky art work, animation, a barrage of facts and figures, plus an incredibly dry wit, Spurlock shines a light on America’s attitudes to weight gain.

December 7, 2007 | Rating: 5/5

Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film
The ‘What Would Jesus Buy?’ project, broader than digestion issues, is the brainchild of Morgan Spurlock, who in a less spiritual frame of mind, lost the junk food battle of the bulge against McDonald’s with this high calorie investigative documentary.

November 11, 2007

Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze…

Plot
Several legal suits have been brought against McDonald’s Restaurants that they are knowingly selling food that is unhealthy. Some of the court decisions have stated that the plaintiffs would have a claim if they could prove that eating the food every day for every meal is dangerous. As such, documentarian Morgan Spurlock conducts an unscientific experiment using himself as the guinea pig: eat only McDonald’s for thirty days, three meals a day. If he is asked by the clerk if he would like the meal super sized, he has to say yes. And by the end of the thirty days, he will have had to have eaten every single menu item at least once. Before starting the experiment, he is tested by three doctors – a general practitioner, a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist – who pronounce his general health to be outstanding. They will also monitor him over the thirty days to ensure that he is not placing his health into irreparable damage. He also consults with a dietitian/nutritionist and an exercise physiologist, the latter who also deems him to be above average fitness. As it mimics the lifestyle of those who eat fast food, he will also do no exercise for the thirty days, limiting himself to under 5,000 steps per day (the approximate equivalent of 2½ miles). These health and medical experts have some predictions about his general health and wellness by the end of the experiment. His vegan chef girlfriend also has some predictions about how this experiment will affect his mood and therefore their relationship. As he goes through the experiment, he speaks to a number of people – many experts in their respective fields – on the pros and cons of the fast food lifestyle. Just over halfway through the experiment, it is evident that even the experts can be wrong, and not in a good way.

Trivia