Getting old is something that happens to a lot of people, but people still like to look young. Male pattern baldness and grey hairs are just two of the things that can make us look older than what we are.
But even Hollywood actors and celebrities face the scorn of executives who really just want younger people. Demi Moore is now 62 and has been acting for decades. When she appeared in Charles Angels: Full Throttle, so much was made about her appearance in a bikini at the age of 40. That was 2003. So much has changed in the last 20 years and women aren’t considered “old maids” by the time they’re 35. And still, things are just the same.
It’s ironic her co-star in The Substance is Margaret Qualley, who at 30, still looks a lot younger like she did 10 years ago. At the same time, her mother in real life, Andie MacDowell, has been praised for embracing her age and her grey hairs. Incidentally, Moore’s ex-husband, Bruce Willis who suffered from male pattern baldness at a younger age decided to just shave his head completely as criticism of the hair replacement products that were becoming popular. Yet, now, men shave their heads all the time.
This is nothing new. Reportedly Ponce de Leon sought the Fountain of Youth in what is president-day Florida. People use creams, gels and even mud to give themselves the appearance of younger-looking skin. To be honest, Botox and collagen treatments are just creepy in my opinion. I was in a doctor’s office where the nurse was obviously in her 70s trying to look like she was in her 50s and I happened to catch a glimpse of her ankles as she sat and the pants rolled up. She definitely was an older woman. People need to embrace their age. It’s possible they spent many years destroying their bodies with smoking and alcohol.
Hey, I smoked for about 15 years. I’m should’ve taken better care. But as my hair thins and turns grey as well as most of my beard, I’ve realized I can’t stop the inevitable. But it’s also about being happy with yourself and not worrying what others think. However, that’s the problem people like Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance can’t avoid. Once a popular celebrity who had won an Oscar and received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Elizabeth’s career has hit the skids.
She’s in her 50s and her star is fading both literally and figuratively. She’s reduced to hosting a daytime aerobics show and doesn’t even have the luxury of her own private bathroom. When the women’s room is closed for cleaning, Elisabeth takes a shot at using the men’s which is empty until the show’s producer, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), comes in bellowing on his cell phone how old Elisabeth is and how she’s going to be replaced with a younger person. Harvey (who is named for you-know-who probably) doesn’t care who it is just as long as it’s someone younger.
Elisabeth overhears this and doesn’t feel too excited especially after she bumps into an old high school classmate, Fred (Edward Hamilton Clark), who is obviously showing his age, even though he enthusiastically compliments her on her beauty and looks. Elisabeth becomes distracted while driving as she sees a billboard advertising her show being taken down and gets in a car wreck. She doesn’t have any injuries but a young male nurse hands her a flash drive advertising “The Substance” offering young looks.
Desperate she orders it but has to get it from a creepy vault room located in a questionable part of town. The substance has one single injection of fluid. When Elisabeth takes it, her body convulses and passes out. And a new body forms out of a slit in her back. The younger woman calls herself Sue (Qualley). To maintain perfect health, both Sue and Elisabeth must switch off seven days each. While Elisabeth is passed out, Sue must take care of with intravenous injections of fluids or else Elisabeth will deteriorate. If a strict constant schedule isn’t kept, Elisabeth will rapidly age.
But things don’t work out that well. Sue auditions for the new show and Harvey immediately hires her. Sue becomes an overnight sensation for her body and the suggestive movements of her workout routines. Sue also flaunts her youthful body and begins to live a hedonistic lifestyle. Yet on the flip side, Elisabeth turns into a self-hating recluse and in one scene desperately calls Fred to set up a date. Yet, she can’t go out as she catches a reflection of herself and doesn’t view herself as attractive.
Sue has a one-night stand with a young man, Troy (Oscar Lesage), who Elisabeth later bumps into only to discover he is a very despicable person who is belligerent to her. Sue begins to cheat and not wanting to switch off with Elisabeth. This, of course, leads to consequences for both of them. If you’re not a fan of body horror, you probably won’t like this. But despite the horror elements which turn very gory in the last 30 minutes or so, this is actually a commentary of looks.
Not only is Harvey an amalgam of probably countless Hollywood movie and TV executives, the casting helps out. Originally, Ray Liotta had been chosen to play the role. However he passed away in late May 2022 before he can begin filming. Quaid was selected next. And while the actor has become a darling of Christian conservative filmmaking, his personal life adds to the role. Quaid was married to P.J. Soles from 1978 to 1983 at which time he was dating Lea Thompson who he met filming Jaws 3-D and she is 11 years younger than soles. Then, he married Meg Ryan after beginning a relationship with her in 1988. She’s the same age as Thompson.
However, his next wife, Kimberly Buffington, is 10 years younger than both Ryan and Thompson. They were married from 2004 to 2018. Now, Quaid is married to Laura Savoie, who is only 34. They’ve been in a relationship since 2019 when she was 28 and he was 65. He also dated model Santa Auzina from 2016 to 2019 who was more than 30 years his junior. So, it’s pretty obvious Quaid has a thing for younger women which makes his role as Harvey even more sleazy. Filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, who wrote and directed the movie, and her director of photography Benjamin Kracun filmed Quaid mostly in close-ups with a fish bowl like lens. During one scene as he pretty much tells Elisabeth they’re firing her, he eats shrimps with the heads still on him as the juices and his own saliva is all over his hands and face.
The casting of Moore is perfect. Not only has she had her ups and downs over the years, but when she was married to Ashton Kutcher, it became tabloid fodder even though there was only a 16-year age difference between them. Yet, we haven’t heard anything about Quaid or other older male celebrities and their younger women partners. Willis’ current wife Emma Herring is about 23 years his junior. Moore was almost cast as the lead in Flashdance as it came down to her and Jennifer Beals (who was eventually cast). But they reportedly asked Pittsburgh area steel workers who they’d rather “fuck” between Beals and Moore. And Beals got more votes.
It’s crazy that most movies are geared to one demographic – young white men. In 1985, graphic artist Alison Bechdel created the Bechdel test that movies have to have two named women roles and they must talk to each other. And that conversation can’t be about a man. It’s been criticized but I can tell how little has changed in 40 years. A common criticism now of movies is they’re created with too many women. And usually men are portrayed in a bad way. This is some InCel foolishness from men.
While Harvey is attracted to Sue obviously, he doesn’t really view Elisabeth as attractive or even worth having sex with. I think Fred may be a good guy who is interested in Elisabeth. But because he’s aged with male-pattern baldness, Elisabeth doesn’t like him. And she only makes a date with him out of desperation. Women can be shallow too. Fargeat is basically using the old-fashioned idiom of “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Elisabeth grows to hate her appearance based on the criticism of others and Sue realizes her “beauty” is the only thing that she has, but it’s actually because men want to have sex with her.
While the movie does go off the rails somewhat in the last 30 minutes, I think it shows the lengths people are willing to go through for fame. With ozempic (semalgtude) becoming a popular weight loss medicine, this movie seems to be touching on a current nerve that might have been unintentional. There’s always a craze such as the Atkins diet, or not eating carbs. And then, it turned to surgery with stomach stapling, lap-bands and stomach sleeves. And all the facial creams and moisturizers are directed more toward women instead of men.
Celebrities like Alec Baldwin, Russell Crowe and Val Kilmer are allowed to put on the pounds as they get older. Yet we slam Bridget Fonda and Kelly McGillis for their appearances. As if getting old is something men are only allowed to do. And women like MacDowell and Paget Brewster, both in their mid-50s, are being hoisted up as trailblazers for their refusals to dye their grey hair.
At two hours and 20 minutes with credits, The Substance feels a little long as it switches from dark comedy to body horror to splatter. But the performances of Moore, Qualley and even Quaid keep the movie watchable even though some of the more revolting scenes. Yet the ending reminds us that we all become up “ashes to ashes and dust to dust” and then swept away.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 