On Screen: “The Substance”
The Substance
‘Tis the season for horror movies, specifically body horror as Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley occupy the same body in “The Substance.”
It’s been many years since Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) got her coveted Star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. She’s now an aging actress who has built an empire on her TV aerobics videos: “Sparkle with Elizabeth.”
But then a smarmy, misogynistic executive, aptly named Harvey (Dennis Quaid), decides she’s too old, no longer attractive, and should be replaced by a perkier, prettier younger version. “After 50, it stops,” he tells her — in no uncertain terms.
Elizabeth is so devastated that she crashes her car, only to emerge unscathed but in possession of a thumb drive tempting her to try a mysteriously futuristic treatment called The Substance, which comes in compartmentalized boxes filled with phosphorescent green liquid, tubing and syringes.
The Substance promises enhancement — “a better version of yourself” — which it delivers. After enduring a gory, grisly, grotesque transformation, naked Elizabeth emerges as a sexy, shiny young doppelgänger (Margaret Qualley), who auditions as her nubile replacement and becomes celebrated as Sue, hosting the high-octane “Pump It Up.”
The creepy catch is that — while cloned Sue’s lithe gyrations captivate lecherous men of all ages — the following week, elder Elizabeth is back, gazing forlornly in the mirror and facing constant rejection. Somethin’ has gotta give, right?
Obviously channeling Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard,” still-stunning 61 year-old Demi Moore (“Ghost”) has a renewed shot at stardom, making her comeback, as French writer-director Coralie Fargeat (“Revenge”) satirically traces Elizabeth’s stylized journey from desperate to damaged to deranged, detailing The It Girl becoming The Gollum.
At the recent Cannes Film Festival, subversively feminist Fargeat won Best Screenplay and received a 13-minute standing ovation.
FYI: if you’re still intrigued by this cautionary yet campy, youth-obsessed concept, “Death Becomes Her” opens on Broadway this Fall … and Margaret Qualley is real-life Andie MacDowell’s daughter. Back in 1985, Demi Moore and Andie MacDowell worked together in “St. Elmo’s Fire.”
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Substance” is a sleazy, stomach-churning, self-loathing 6, playing in theaters.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.
During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie and drama critic, syndicating her reviews and articles around the world, including Video Librarian. She has appeared on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies. In 2017, her book 150 Timeless Movies was published by Hannacroix Creek Books. Her website is www.susangranger.com.