‘The Good, the Bad, the Hungry’ Argues for Competitive Eating as a Legitimate Sport
Preview
My sympathies if you have difficulty swallowing the notion of competitive eating as a legitimate sport.
Nicole Lucas Haimes’ entertaining 30 for 30 documentary The Good, the Bad, the Hungry makes a compellingly cringe-inducing argument, serving as a curtain-raiser to the Fourth of July spectacle of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at New York’s Coney Island.
The maestro of this gastro-Olympics is PR huckster George Shea. “A lot of what I say isn’t literally true in terms of words, but it’s emotionally true,” he says as he describes growing this local sideshow into an international event organized by his own Major League Eating.
He created celebs out of six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi, a slight youth from Japan, and his American nemesis Joey Chestnut while orchestrating a rivalry painting Kobayashi as an interloping villain.
Hungry also reveals how training for these chew-offs is taken seriously. But with fame comes pitfalls, including a contract dispute that led Kobayashi to strike out on his own. If any sport merits a “bite me” clause, it’s this one.
The Good, the Bad, the Hungry, Documentary Premiere, Tuesday, July 2, 8/7c, ESPN
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