There are three things that Spurlock's film now has in common with Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ: controversy, unexpected box office success, and they've all come under attack.

While Moore's documentary, a blistering condemnation of President George W. Bush and his handling of the War on Iraq and the war against terrorism, and Gibson's film, a spare-no-details look at the last hours of Jesus Christ, were attacked even before they hit the theatres, Spurlock's documentary, an amusing examination of how over-indulging in fast food can cost you your health, is now getting deep-fried by the fast food industry and its right wing surrogates.

As usual, this year's crop of movies was designed to entertain and make oodles of money for their producers and distributors. But it was clear from the outset that both Moore and Gibson had more on their minds than that: Their films were motivated by a set of political and/or spiritual ideals. Moore clearly intended that Fahrenheit 9/11 be used to help defeat President Bush in November, while Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was released on Ash Wednesday to maximize the religious impact it might have.

Morgan Spurlock, the producer/director/star of Super Size Me, a documentary in which Spurlock documented his weight gain while engaging in a 30-day experimental diet consisting exclusively of eating at McDonald's -- and super-sizing portions every time he was given the opportunity -- likely hoped his film would cause a little stir and be successful enough to allow him to make more movies.

While Moore, who won an Oscar for Bowling at Columbine, and Gibson, who won several Oscars for Braveheart, are no strangers to controversy and criticism, such notoriety is new to Spurlock. Now, however, the success of Super Size Me -- as of the end of July it had taken in $11 million, out-grossing nearly every other art house film this summer -- and its upcoming European premiere has brought the film, and a corporate sponsor, into the right's crosshairs.

The Center for Individual Freedom and Frontiers of Freedom are spearheading a campaign against Subway, the international sandwich chain, claiming that it is promoting the German premier of Super Size Me by using a "tray liner... in their restaurants in Germany and across Europe," displaying "an obese Statue of Liberty holding a burger and fries in her hands," with the headline "Why are Americans so fat?"

The promotion is a "shameless and anti-American effort to increase sales in Europe," Jeff Mazzella, the Executive Director of the Center for Individual Freedom, charged. In a statement, Mazzella also claimed that "the headline uses the German word 'Amis' -- a derogatory term for Americans."

"It is appalling that Subway, a U.S. company, would attack Americans and the Statue of Liberty, our most recognizable symbol of freedom, in a time of war just to gain market share," Mazzella said in a statement. "Subway's advertising strategy amounts to nothing more than a shameless and irresponsible marketing scheme," he added. "The company is exploiting cultural tensions and inflaming anti-American sentiment abroad just to sell more sandwiches."

Even the ethically-challenged House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) got into the act, criticizing the company's promotion as "anti-American."

The Center for Individual Freedom is countering the Supersize message through promoting an upcoming film by Soso Whaley who, according to the industry front group, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at McDonald's for two months and managed to lose weight.

Fred DeLuca, the president and founder of Subway -- the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. with more than 13,000 outlets, as well as an additional 7,000 in 76 countries, adamantly denied the group's allegations.

"Why would someone join Subway, bring American food over there, and then have a single thought of something negative about America?" DeLuca asked during a press conference at Subway's international headquarters in Milford, Connecticut. DeLuca pointed out that he thought the protest might be politically motivated considering that filmmaker Michael Moore was in Spurlock's film and is mentioned twice in the tray liner copy. "I suspect they are furious about Michael Moore," said DeLuca.

"In terms of being anti-American, that's wrong," he added. "Our German franchisees are about the most pro-American people you can find. They found an American product, liked it and brought it back to their country."

When Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was released earlier this year, predictions from pundits, religious activists and movie critics ranged from the apocalyptic -- a wave of anti-Semitism would be unleashed -- to the optimistic -- a Christian revival would take place. The film has grossed more than $370 million, yet neither prediction has really panned out. The Dallas Morning News recently reported that a survey by the Barna Group, "a polling company that specializes in issues of interest to evangelical Christians, indicated that less than one-tenth of 1 percent of those who saw the movie were moved to become Christians as a result. And fewer than five Christians in 1,000 who saw the movie were moved to increase their proselytizing."

While Fahrenheit 9/11 has broken box office records for documentaries -- passing the $100 million mark in mid-July -- it remains to be seen whether it will have any effect on November's election. It did, however, engender an enormous right wing backlash. Even before the film's release, conservatives banded together to cow theater-owners into not running the film. When that strategy failed -- more than 2,000 screens showed the film at the height of its success -- right wing "truth squads" fanned out across the country, filling the media with allegations of Moore truth-fudging. Recently, a showing of the film in George W. Bush's hometown of Crawford, Texas, not only drew some two to three thousand people to an outdoor screening, it also brought out several hundred pro-Bush supporters.

Non-fiction filmmaking certainly has hit its stride in 2004. As Stephanie Bunbury writes in the Australian newspaper The Age, "nobody would have imagined the new millennium would see documentary become so hot it sizzles." This year's documentaries (or docudramas in the case of the Gibson film) are unabashedly personal, make bold political statements, show a flash of humor (except for the Gibson film), and have been financially successful (especially the Gibson film). In the entertainment industry success begets more of the same. For more please see the Bill Berkowitz archive.

Bill Berkowitz is a longtime observer of the conservative movement. His WorkingForChange column Conservative Watch documents the strategies, players, institutions, victories and defeats of the American Right.

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