In today’s episode we dive into The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat and starring Demi Moore in an Oscar-worthy performance (go watch her acceptance speech from the recent Golden Globes win stat!). In case you’ve somehow been out of the loop, the film centers on Elisabeth Sparkle, a Jane Fonda–esque actor and fitness icon who is abruptly laid off from her TV show by a misogynistic producer, Harvey (Dennis Quaid, who is a scene stealer). Desperate to reclaim her relevance, she turns to the Substance, a black-market treatment that allows her to spawn Sue (Margaret Qualley)—a younger, better version of herself. The two versions cannot coexist, however, so Elisabeth must alternate between herself and her alternate every seven days—or else. What could go wrong? Ummmm…one cannot begin to imagine. It’s a “bonkers” film the likes of which we have never seen before, which means you HAVE to check it out! It’s a feminist body horror movie that has us talking about the violence of control over women, the violence of one’s own thoughts, the horrors imposed on women by society and ourselves, and our deeper takeaway messages.