Review of The Stuff (1985) by Gordon R — 05 Jan 2015

I feel like this is finally what Alex has been talking about for so long, the "cartoon that knows it." The Stuff embraces its inherent absurdity with verve and eagerness. It doesn't buy into the idea that having a stupid plot means they have to make a bad movie. Moe Rutherford is a dramatic comedian in the vein of like a Dale Cooper or even Peter Sellers, if not half as extreme, and his scenes have a wonderful off-kilter humor.

The writing is clever in ways that bigger and classier genre movies rarely achieve. Moe goes through this weird evolution from mercenary industrial saboteur to James Bond action-hero lady-saver to consumer advocate. He recruits a deranged McCarthyist colonel into leading his troops to fight the Stuff and they all take taxis into town. And while the Stuff seems like an obvious satire on processed food (taking out the steps between petroleum coming out of the ground and dangerous mind-altering food products hitting the shelves) it never feels like The Stuff has any interest in even talking about that. If it did, they probably wouldn't have had consumers burning it after a single health warning on a local radio station :s.

The only shit thing about this movie is how much gratuitous misogyny and weird racism it shows. Moe just randomly starts dating one of his leads, a marketing exec who is initially portrayed as decisive, but then constantly dainty-lady-runs her way into mild conundrums and demands constant rescuing. He calls her "a pretty little thing" at least twice. Then Colonel Gromly or whatever can barely contain himself from physical violence against the one black character. We're clearly meant to pity him for his shortsightedness as well as his racism, but in mocking him the movie seems to overlook the inherent racism in Chocolate Chip Charlie's character.

Problematic bits aside, The Stuff is a tremendously fun and clever movie. Thanks Erik!