Search - Muffin Man - Standard Edition (2004) on DVD

Great Educational Tool

School Nutritionist | Dallas, TX | 11/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a nutritionist for a school district in Texas, and we have a severe obesity problem with our kids. I've started showing Muffin Man to groups of High School kids across the district, and the impact this movie has on the students is incredible. Some have come back and said they would rather have their jaws wired shut, so they don't end up like the Muffin Man.

We've also shown SuperSize Me, which is a great movie but doesn't seem drive home the fact that the kids need to change their own behavior. They just can't blame McDonald's and think the problem will go away.

I've noticed that some of the other reviews say that Muffin Man is "dirty" or "not for kids". There are a few scenes that are somewhat suggestive - but nothing the kids haven't seen before in the theater. I haven't had any complaints from the parents - I've even let my three younger kids see the movie. The educational value is well worth it, if I can change the eating habits of some of my students.
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Very strange, but good movie

Bungie Jumper | Baltimore, MD | 12/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Watching Muffin Man is like watching Walt Disney's "Fantasia" with a slight buzz. It just kind of hits you in that certain way and you don't quite know what to think about it.

It took me a while to realize that the deadpan narration is a spoof on a poorly done Discovery Channel documentary. Once I thought of it like that, everything seemed a lot funnier.

I bought the DVD on the recomendation of a friend, who said it was like an early John Waters movie (I live in Baltimore and am a big John Waters fan!) I don't think it's anything like John Waters, but I can't think of anything else that it's like, either. Muffin Man is unique, strange, and funny."

You'll either love it, or be terribly offended

Sandra Starr | Parsippany, NJ | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You cannot judge this movie by conventional standards. It is meant to be a completely different genre all by itself, and must be judged as such. I was lucky enough to be in Seattle last December and saw Muffin Man at it's theatrical premier. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants. There were a number of overweight people in the audience, and I thought they would be offended but they were laughing even harder than I was.

The humor in Muffin Man is exceptionally intellegent, and I'm sure many people just won't get it. On the surface, it may appear to be one big "fat joke" but there's a lot more to it. This is really a social commentary on our overly excessive civilization; our tendancy towards overeating is just one part of it.

There are a lot of subtleties that I missed the first time through - it was a lot of fun to go back and see it again on DVD.

Overall, the acting and production values were top notch. The behind the scenes footage was interesting, but not very well edited, it looked like it was thrown together pretty quickly.

Specific to the HD Edition: this movie was filmed in High Definition, and although it's a "low budget" production, it really looks incredible. I am a producer myself and have a passion for digital cinema, and this movie shows that you really can make an extremely high quality production on a limited budget. I have all of the Windows Media High Definition IMAX disks, and they truely bring a theatrical experience to the living room. You will need an HDTV and a relatively fast / new PC to watch the HD version, but with the "Media Center" computers, this is pretty much mainstream nowadays."

Campy, funny, intellegent

Dirk Gently | San Francisco, CA | 02/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking for cheap jokes, personal put-downs, and physical comedy, this movie probably isn't for you. Muffin Man is a dark, poignant, cerebral comedy that stabs at the heart of all of our social ills.

Unfortunately it was not without its problems. On the plus side, it was wickedly funny with a very sharp wit. There were a lot of subtleties that make you do a second take. Also, I especially loved the music - I really want a copy of the soundtrack. On the minus side, the production was a bit campy. Not sure how to describe it, but it had more of a cult feel than a mainstream production - The HD Edition is great, but I'd really like to see it on a big screen. I'll give it a 7 on a scale of 10."