Nostalgia Theatre Presents: "The Peanut Butter Solution"

Growing up in the 80's meant having a lot of 'kid's films' that were completely off the rails from the Walt Disney formula. They featured cursing, intense violence, frightening images, and in the case of Jim Henson's Labrynth, David Bowie's crotch. Many of these films were just bizarre, which is the perfect way to categorize The Peanut Butter Solution. The movie told the story of Michael (Mathew Mackay), who visits a torched house and witnesses something so ghastly, that all of the hair falls off of his head. Because the boy is so gangrel without his hair, the other kids make fun of him. Then one night a pair of ghosts teach him the titular solution which will supposedly make his hair grow back. The solution calls for a specific amount of of peanut butter, and the ghosts warn Michael to not use too much or something bad will happen.

But if we learned nothing from the movie Gremlins, it's that you can't have a story if you don't break any rules.

Too much peanut butter causes Michael's hair to grow uncontrollably, turning him into 'Cousin It' by the end of a school day. Somehow a sadistic art teacher discovers Michael's problem, kidnaps the troubled boy, and creates a sweatshop where children are forced to use his hair to create magical paint brushes.

The Peanut Butter Solution is one of those films that people only vaguely remember. I remember always being so scared by the movie, because the artist was so mean to children. Now, having re-watched the film only moments, ago, I must say that I remembered correctly. The artist in this film is so awful to children, that I would not even consider showing it to the kids I teach in my afterschool program. That's not to say the film is awful; it's almost like a Spike Jonze film with some decent special effects all things considered. The French-Canadian company that produced The Peanut Butter Solution went belly-up, making a DVD release very unlikely. Even worse the few remaining videos for sale on eBay and Half.com for more than 40 bucks a pop. Fortunately, I was able to find a decent transfer of the film on Google Video. Enjoy: