History YMMV / SuperSizeMe

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In real life, scientists and dieticians' main problem with junk and fast food are that it has no nutritional value and full of "empty" calories. The movie focuses on the health problems associated with the massive caloric intake of eating fat, sugar and carbohydrates. Had they done the real concerns, it would have likely made the message of the film work better.

* CondemnedByHistory: When the movie originally released in 2004, it was a massive hit and was widely praised for illustrating issues with the fast food industry and its connection to the obesity epidemic by showing the ill effects of Morgan Spurlock eating nothing but UsefulNotes/McDonalds for a month. Its publicity led to [=McDonald's=] removing the "Super Size" option from its menu and made it a staple of health classes in American schools. However, by the end of the decade, it began attracting increasingly vocal criticism for the veracity of its experiment, with people highlighting confounds like Spurlock both having a history of alcoholism and having been a vegan prior to filming. The response documentary ''Film/FatHead'' particularly brought the film's issues to the forefront by repeating Spurlock's experiment but failing to replicate its results. By the second half of TheNewTens, ''Super Size Me'' became better known for its methodological flaws, and the withdrawal of its [[Film/SuperSizeMe2HolyChicken sequel]] from the Sundance Film Festival and [=YouTube=] Red in the wake of Spurlock's admissions to sexual misconduct only drove more nails into the coffin. Nowadays, ''Super Size Me'' is typically mocked for both its CaptainObviousAesop and its veracity issues when it isn't [[OvershadowedByControversy overshadowed by Spurlock's scandal]].

* CaptainObviousAesop: Fast food is bad for your health. The film admits that everyone already knows that, but attempts to show that it's worse than you might think. The doctor at the beginning says that he expects Spurlock to gain some weight, but after a few weeks is begging him to stop the experiment for his own safety. The experiment as a whole just glues together a larger message about making smart food choices.

** Discussion of the film will often feature debates over the veracity of the experiment, with factors such as Spurlock being vegan prior to the film's beginning making the results worse than they'd be for a normal fast food eater, or whether his decades-long struggle with alcoholism had anything to do with the liver problems he alleges the diet caused him.

** The film was responsible for leading [=McDonald's=] to drop their Super Size option from the menu on account of the health issues suffered by Spurlock in the movie.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: While there's no real denying that "excessive fast food is harmful to your health" is a CaptainObviousAesop, a case can be made for this; the movie does spend a bit of time pointing out the reasons ''why'' this is the case, some of which are not what you'd expect. Obesity is also a very serious public health issue in the United States.

** The film got this around the time the Weinstein Effect emerged in 2017 due to Morgan Spurlock confessing to sexual misconduct, which put it in the spotlight again for completely different reasons. This also resulted in a sequel to the film being dropped from distribution.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryynfuEkZeI The Theme Song.]]
* CaptainObviousAesop: Fast food is bad for your health. [[{{Pun}} No shit, Spurlock.]] The film admits that everyone already knows that, but attempts to show that it's worse than you might think. The doctor at the beginning says that he expects Spurlock to gain some weight, but after a few weeks is begging him to stop the experiment for his own safety. The experiment as a whole just glues together a larger message about making smart food choices.

* NauseaFuel: Especially when Spurlock vomited his first Super-sized meal.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: While there's no real denying that this is a bit of a CaptainObviousAesop (excessive fast food is harmful to your health? ''Really''?), a case can be made for this; the movie does spend a bit of time pointing out the reasons ''why'' this is the case, some of which are not what you'd expect. Obesity is also a very serious public health issue in the United States.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The movie focuses on the health problems associated with the massive caloric intake associated with the amount of fat, sugar and carbohydrates he was eating, rather than what food scientists and dieticians primarily criticize fast (and junk) food for: being nutritionally bankrupt and full of "empty" calories. Had they done otherwise, that could have improved the message of the movie.

** Discussion of the film will often feature debates over the veracity of the experiment, with factors such as Spurlock being vegan prior to the film's beginning making the results worse than they'd be for a normal fast food eater.

* NeverLiveItDown: The film became this to [=McDonalds=], forever making them the iconic image of unhealthy and fattening fast food. Even if you haven't seen the film, you've probably at least heard about the sequence of Spurlock struggling to finish his Supersized meal and vomiting it in the parking lot.
* OvershadowedByControversy: The film got this around the time the Weinstein Effect emerged in 2017 due to Morgan Spurlock confessing to sexual misconduct, which put it in the spotlight again for completely different reasons. This also resulted in a sequel to the film being dropped from distribution. To a lesser extent, there's also controversy over the veracity of the experiment.

** The segment with Jared Fogle speaking to a crowd of families about weight loss, and one particular mother and daughter praising him for being such an inspiration, is especially hard to take today considering his subsequent arrest and incarceration for possessing child pornography and having sexual relations with minors. The sequel gives a quick "Well, you know?" mention to Subway that good restaurants need a story.

** The segment with Jared Fogle speaking to a crowd of families about weight loss, and one particular mother and daughter praising him for being such an inspiration, is especially hard to take today considering his subsequent arrest and incarceration for possessing child pornography and having sexual relations with minors. The sequel gives a quick "Well, you know?" mention of good restaurants need a story.

** The segment with Jared Fogle speaking to a crowd of families about weight loss, and one particular mother and daughter praising him for being such an inspiration, is especially hard to take today considering his subsequent arrest and incarceration for possessing child pornography and having sexual relations with minors.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The film got this around the time the Weinstein Effect emerged in 2017 due to Morgan Spurlock confessing to sexual misconduct, which put it in the spotlight again for completely different reasons. This also resulted in a sequel to the film being dropped from distribution. To a lesser extent, there's also controversy over the [[DocumentaryOfLies veracity of the experiment]].
* SnarkBait: Many people these days cannot take ''Super Size Me'' seriously, not only because the film's obvious message of eating too much fast food is bad for you, but also [[DocumentaryOfLies the truth behind the experiment]] and the fact so many others have disproved the documentary as well. The fact many fast-food chains have dropped the "Super Size" option says much, which also boggled people's minds when Spurlock released a ''sequel'' to the documentary, only for it to be overshadowed due to the Weinstein Effect.

** A lot of the information in this film is either outdated or most likely staged. Morgen has yet to release his medical dairy of this experiment, and those who have tried to recreate this experiment have gotten drastically different results.People have also criticized that his alcohol intake and the fact he was a vegan before, might have tampered the results.

** ** A lot of the information in this film is either outdated or most likely staged. Morgen has yet to release his medical dairy of this experiment, and those who have tried to recreate this experiment have gotten drastically different results.People have also criticized that his alcohol intake and the fact he was a vegan before, might have tampered the results.

* EarWorm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryynfuEkZeI The Theme Song.]]

* CriticalResearchFailure:
** The film has seen increased accusations of this over the years, as more discussions have popped up regarding the exaggerated nature of the experiment. Namely, the fact that Spurlock's diet was far more unhealthy than what a normal fast-food customer would typically eat (thanks to him deliberately seeking out the unhealthiest choices possible), and the fact that Spurlock was a vegan prior to beginning the experiment (which explains the scene of him vomiting in the parking lot, as he had eaten a large amount of food his body was not used to). Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment does apply, though, as the film still has its supporters who argue that Spurlock's choices during the film were ''meant'' to be unrealistically unhealthy, in order to show the consequences of the out-of-control unhealthy eating habits that fast food chains encouraged via elements such as the titular "Super-Size" options.
** Further adding to the discredit was the revelation that Spurlock struggled with alcoholism for 30 years, which covered his time filming ''Super Size Me'', meaning that not only was he a vegetarian suddenly changing his diet to include meat (which anyone with a bare knowledge of health can tell you is a bad idea), but also already damaging his health with large amounts of alcohol and raising the question of how much was his bad health due to not only his sudden change in diet, but also alcohol thrown in the mix.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The film got this around the time the Weinstein Effect emerged in 2017 due to Morgan Spurlock confessing to sexual misconduct, which put it in the spotlight again for completely different reasons. This also resulted in a sequel to the film being dropped from distribution. To a lesser extent, there's also [[DocumentaryOfLies the numerous inconsistencies, exaggerations, and manipulative tactics used in Spurlock's (conveniently unverifiable) research]] that have made it more obvious that the documentary had its conclusions set in stone before any experimenting was done.

** Further adding to the discredit was the revelation that Spurlock wasn't ''sober for 30 years'', which covered his time filming ''Super Size Me'', meaning that not only was he a vegetarian suddenly changing his diet to include meat (which anyone with a bare knowledge of health can tell you is a bad idea), but also already damaging his health with alcohol and raising the question of how much was his bad health due to not only his sudden change in diet, but also alcohol thrown in the mix.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The film has seen increased accusations of this over the years, as more discussions have popped up regarding the exaggerated nature of the experiment. Namely, the fact that Spurlock's diet was far more unhealthy than what a normal fast-food customer would typically eat (thanks to him deliberately seeking out the unhealthiest choices possible), and the fact that Spurlock was a vegan prior to beginning the experiment (which explains the scene of him vomiting in the parking lot, as he had eaten a large amount of food his body was not used to). Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment does apply, though, as the film still has its supporters who argue that Spurlock's choices during the film were ''meant'' to be unrealistically unhealthy, in order to show the consequences of the out-of-control unhealthy eating habits that fast food chains encouraged via elements such as the titular "Super-Size" options.

* HarsherInHindsight: The segment with Jared Fogle speaking to a crowd of families about weight loss, and one particular mother and daughter praising him for being such an inspiration, is especially hard to take today considering his subsequent arrest and incarceration for possessing child pornography and having sexual relations with minors.