In this week's edition of Blurb Racket—the Gelf feature in which we take a close look at those critic blurbs that are a fixture of ads for movies—see breakdowns of blurbs for Casino Royale, Happy Feet, Deck the Halls, and more. This week's Bogus Blurb of the Week comes in an ad for Fast Food Nation:

Paul Antonson

The New York Sun: "Engaging and thoughtful."
Actual line: "The problem is, of course, that while the movie is as stuffed with engaging and thoughtful asides as a bulging sack of White Castle burgers, it is as similarly packed with empty calories."
Not quoted: "Inevitably, Mr. Linklater's collaboration with Mr. Schlosser on a fictional version of the book proves misguided—this long-winded treatment plays out with a clunky, multilayered story that jostles uneasily between satire that isn't quite funny enough, righteous speechifying that rings canned rather than fresh, and social drama that feels as prefabricated as those all-beef patties that oppress our souls."
Why the PR folks decided to mine for blurb gold in a review as shitty as this one isn't clear—there are plenty of good reviews out there. For its misguided attempt at fecal alchemy, this blurb wins Gelf's Bogus Blurb of the Week award.

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