The Stuff

<I>The Stuff</i> is one of those films from the 1980s that is not only so bad, it's so good. It's definitely not Oscar-worthy (nor would it ever make it to this level, ever), but it has a somewhat solid story and great practical effects, even with a small budget (under $2 million), and that's why this film has a fanbase. <A HREF="https://letterboxd.com/tylerdoupe/">Tyler Doupe'</A> <A HREF="https://youtu.be/N5kDceqqlrI">speaks highly of the film</A>, including about <B>The Stuff</B>'s jingle and branding, as well as to how we as consumers are influenced by advertising (and <A HREF="https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/the-overlook-motel/449340/the-stuff-is-a-slick-critique-of-consumer-culture-watch/">provides great references to support this</A>).

If this film were made today, viewers would demolish it because the dialog leans on the negative side as our main character, "Mo" Rutherford, is similar to Daniel Challis, Tom Atkins' character from <I>Halloween III: Season of the Witch</i>. They both love beautiful women and have a way with words that would make anyone today shudder with disgust (and HR would be on top of this immediately!). I know <A HREF="http://letterboxd.com/carignano">Mauro</A> would agree with me on this, especially after talking about <I>Halloween III: Season of the Witch</i> on <A HREF="https://boxd.it/taecW">our Double Threat Podcast episode</A>.

Back to the film, I'm sure many have seen some of the film's clips and/or GIFs online, all which mostly spoil the film, but they're fantastic and add to the film's cheesiness and fun, so it's okay to let that slide (The film has been out for almost 40 years and is streaming free on various platforms, so there's no excuse to not have watched it by now). "Chocolate" Charlie and his Bruce Lee-like moves (and over-acting) and Mo's determination to uncover the truth about the The Stuff's ingredients provide under two hours of a worthwhile watch.

If you haven't seen <I>The Stuff</i>, don't let it sit in your watchlist and spoil.