Talk about a corn maze! Not the kind where you spend a couple bucks to wander through a plant labyrinth with your friends; this corn maze unfolds as filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis harvest some pesticide-dusted, genetically-modified nuggets they grew on an acre of land in Iowa.

In trying to follow the fruits of their labor through the American food processing system they soon realize that the choices available go far beyond tortillas, popcorn or muffins. Corn is used as a substitute for hay in feeding cattle for cheap, but fatty meat from sickly cows. It is also turned into high fructose corn syrup to be used in sodas and other sweet treats we crave.

In fact, an abundance of government subsidized corn crops are presented as everything wrong with the current state of American agriculture and the cause of our ever-widening waistlines. They state a valiant and interesting case against everyone’s favorite, golden side dish, and they shine light on a system that’s definitely due for an overhaul. In the end I still couldn’t help but think, “It’s just corn.”

Grade: B-

King Corn releases in select theaters Oct. 26.