The Peanut Butter Solution (1985)

29 Aug 2023

Rating: 2.5/5

Michael gives all of his money to a couple of unhoused folks. He later learns that the building in which they were squatting burned down

Michael enters the burned-down building and sees something that makes his hair stand on end, causing him to pass out. When he wakes up the next day, all his hair is gone, and he cannot remember what he saw

The ghosts of the unhoused folks show up and give him a recipe to grow hair. But the hair grows faster than he can manage, ostracizing him from friends and school

The movie establishes the absurdity of this universe early on, so all of the weird occurrences are taken at face value, letting the humor of each situation rise organically

His artist dad Billy is so funny, and the actor played Colonel Tigh in Battlestar Galactica!

Once the movie establishes stakes, it gets dramatically less fun, but the air of whimsy doesn’t disappear completely

It’s still a kids movie, but it doesn’t condescend to its audience


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