I saw Supersize Me yesterday. Good movie, and I buy the message completely. But…
For me, the vegan girlfriend gave the movie less credibility. Granted, she seemed pretty reasonable except for two minor vegan rants (one about the beautiful vegetables before he began his crazy diet, and one about a special “detox” program she had prepared for him at the end). But did she really need to be prominently featured in the movie, when her only relevant role was as his girlfriend? Then, she was the only one other than him in the “directors overdub”, describing making the movie. Maybe it was just me, but when a vegan makes a statement about how vile McDonalds is, it holds an awful lot less clout than when someone more mainstream in their thinking does.
Anyway, really good movie. I’d been looking forward to seeing it, and wasn’t disappointed.
I pretty much agree. I just watched it for the first time a few days ago, and I think the only thing that she added to the movie was when she was talking about how the sex with him wasn’t as good when he was on his McD’s diet, because he was tired and unenthusiastic. I think it helped prove the point of how much eating crap day in and day out can do to your body.
She was a good contrast to the all-meat, all-sugar, all-fat diet he was gone, but I think she was a little extreme, and sounded flaky at times. For her, there was no middle zone, where he could eat meat and still be healthy. It was all black and white, you’re either unhealthy and eat fast food all the time, or you’re vegan, healthy, and morally right.
I laughed heartily when she talked about their lagging sex life. That part was funny.
I think she served to put into perspective where he was coming from. The guy was really in shape, he ate a healthy diet, etc. before he began the project. I don’t think anything would have been lost had she been completely removed, but I can’t say I was annoyed by her presence.
She did make many valuable contributions. The whole premise of the movie required the viewer to get to know Morgan a little bit, and she really helped in that regard. Also, her commentary about his behavioral changes was valuable.
But as others said, she made it seem like veganism was the only healthy diet, and that eating any meat at all was analagous to eating McDonalds three times a day. The point of this movie wasn’t to promote a vegan diet, and Morgan wasn’t a vegan before the experiment, so her vegan rants distracted the viewer and brought in a lot of off-topic stuff.
But as much as she seemed like one of those annoying vegan wackos that harangue innocent bystanders about their evil omnivore diet, the movie did show some positive things about veganism. The vegan meals looked appetizing. The vegan detox diet worked. And most importantly, this movie showed that an omnivore CAN enjoy and be satisfied with a vegan meal. (I’m an omnivore, but I get really annoyed with people who think they have to have meat with every meal.)
Maybe I didn’t listen very hard to her but I thought she was actually pretty restrained. My Dad is more outspoken against McDonalds than she was and he is a meat eater.
I agree with pokey. I don’t think her presence was distracting. Besides, if my boyfriend was making a documentary, I’d want to be in it too! (alright, that’s kind of a joke. I realize that’s not a good enough reason to actually put your girlfriend in your movie.)
(alright, that’s kind of a joke. I realize that’s not a good enough reason to actually put your girlfriend in your movie.)