The great expose of the meat-packing industry was Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," his 1906 muckraking novel that shocked a nation and led to stricter federal controls over food safety. Eric Schlosser's 2001 "Fast Food Nation" not only confirmed that many meat safety issues remain unsolved but portrayed a country so addicted to grab-and-eat junk food that a fifth of its adolescents are obese and major health issues abound. Which is why Richard Linklater's curious attempt to make a narrative feature from that nonfiction book is so disappointing.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.