Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, September 6:
SUPER SIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN!
Director:
Morgan Spurlock
World Premiere:
Toronto 2017
About:
The director takes on fast food once again, opening up his own chicken restaurant.
Nearly 16 years ago, director Morgan Spurlock turned himself into a human guinea pig to demonstrate the unhealthiness of a fast food diet in SUPER SIZE ME, and in the process launched a successful career as a playfully investigative documentarian. Shortly after this, his latest feature, launched in Toronto two years ago, Spurlock published an account of his sexual misconduct over the years, resulting in the shuttering of his production company and the relegation of this doc into limbo until now. Though billed as a sequel to his debut film, this project is in many ways more similar to his self-reflexive look at branding and advertising, POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD. The conceit here is that Spurlock decides to open a chicken restaurant, even raising his own chickens, but, in the process, he reveals the hidden side of industrial food production, and how marketing has been employed to try to convince consumers they’re making healthier choices. The culmination of his efforts is the launch of his restaurant in Columbus OH, with its walls festooned with slogans demonstrating the absurdity of ad-speak, and menu items showcasing transparent techniques to win over the customer, like a fried chicken sandwich with painted-on grill marks. Though the film won’t win over viewers who take issue with Spurlock’s brand of filmmaking, It’s a watchable and often amusing bit of manufactured theatre.