Review of Stink! (2015) by Eric R — 27 Nov 2015

I saw the new documentary STINK! By Jon Whelan. It's curious how one can sell a bottle of something that's clearly composed of chemical compounds without really letting you know what's in it. With food they have to disclose every single thing inside it. Fragrance is something we breathe in and absorb through our skin every day. If it's killing us, someone should mention that. It may be. And Jon Whelan is mentioning it.

Whelan is a younger, handsomer, more likeable Michael Moore who's gotten down to his fighting weight. And he's taking on the Fragrance industry, relentlessly and fearlessly. We might assume the corporate giants making billions in this commercial arena are being watched over by some government regulatory agency. But we'd be wrong. On the contrary, the government is influenced by the industry to keep their business as profitable and free of oversight as possible, unlike their counterparts in every other part of the world. What you'll learn will astound and frighten you. And that's good.

When you watch STINK, you'll find its creator/protagonist/narrator/hero relatable, and smart. And you learn through this documentary and the story interlaced within it, that he is doing this from the standpoint of a good, earnest man and father. This point of view and the way the story is told is unique and engaging, more so than any documentary that I can recall. Whelan's story, STINK, is as touching as it is powerful and informative. And I think everyone in our society, which wreaks of unregulated fragrances in products you wouldn't even imagine, should see this.