i wasn’t paying attention to Hulu’s release schedule, and I rented this when Apple had it as a bargain bin rental days before it dropped on Hulu. neither offer audio description. Generally, when there is a sequel to a documentary, it means we screwed up, and the problem still exists. You never see a sequel to a documentary that is all good vibes and a celebration of all the hard work we did to finally change that thing the first film warned us about. So, great, our food is still janky.
except instead of getting horrifying footage, this one leans into the rough working conditions for migrant farmers, and focuses heavily on obesity as a result of ultra processed food. I probably could have learned more with audio description, but in many ways, this is akin to a really long podcast. I had takeaways, which makes it really hard for me to say “unwatchable” simply based on the lack of accessibility. there might be something here someone needs to hear. i know for me, it reinforced a lot of things I’ve been hearing as the culture of health moves to an anti-ultra processed food, and trying to teach people the difference between ultra and regular. even within that, they have a hard time figuring out whether or not to tell someone to eat these plant based meats, and they flat out say its better than eating an actual cow.
So, I’m giving this a rare audio description free pass. I’m far more likely to do this with a documentary than a narrative feature, because the documentary might have some really important information in it. This could really reach someone, and I’m not going to try and turn a blind person who may need to hear what this film has to say away simply because it isn’t the best cinematic experience. If your health sucks, maybe this film has some ideas for how to turn that around?
The first film was certainly more impactful, and I didn’t eat meat for a long time after that. but, now I’m trying to avoid ultra processed food… so this is still an effective franchise. I wonder what the third film will be?
Final Grade: B+