The Peanut Butter Solution (Severin Films Blu-ray Review)

Is The Peanut Butter Solution Trash or Treasure?

Blu-ray Distributed By: Severin Films / December 31, 2019

If you were a child in the ‘80s, you were likely traumatized for life by repeated viewings of this on cable or VHS. If you’ve never seen it, nothing can prepare you for the damage that awaits your psyche: For our premiere release, Severin Kids presents the “notoriously strange and creepy” (BeatRoute.ca) Canadian kiddie feature about burning winos, sudden baldness, psychotic teachers, suburban abductions, juvenile sweatshops and the icky concoction that grows long lustrous pubes. Mathew Mackay, Michael Hogan (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), and Siluck Saysanasy (DEGRASSI HIGH) star in this surreal mind-roaster that Moviejawn.com calls “The real deal…It plays like an Afterschool Special telling kids their hair will fall out, peers will make fun of you, and you will be whisked away to a demented underworld where Celine Dion sings and children beg for their lives.”

Jimbo’s Take (4 / 5)

I love The Peanut Butter Solution. However, I am one of those 80s kids mentioned in the first paragraph. The real test is what will newcomers think?

Way back in 1980-something, I stumbled upon a double feature of The Peanut Butter Solution and The Dog Who Stopped the War (another childhood mind-fuck from Producer Rock Demers). The Peanut Butter Solution was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was, in many regards, all of a child’s worst nightmares in a single movie. So naturally I had to show it to my kids.

Act I: The set-up

Eleven-year old Michael is being raised by his older sister Suzie and his odd-ball artist, single-dad Billy (Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Hogan). Mom is out of the picture and Michael misses her desperately. She’s not dead, just gone. But best friend Connie lightens the mood and helps get Michael into typical adolescent shenanigans. The friends decide to explore a recently burned out building, but while exploring Michael sees something that gives him such a fright he passes out!

Act II: Things get weird

Michael awakens the next morning after “the fright” only to discover his hair has fallen out completely. It’s a horrifying and devastating ordeal for Michael. Embarrassed and sad, Michael refuses to leave the house, but Suzie and dad try to cheer up Michael by getting him a wig. It’s a good plan but some neighborhood bullies make sure things won’t be that easy for our protagonist. Just as all hope seems lost, two homeless ghosts visit Michael in the night to give him a secret formula to help with his hair loss. But don’t use too much peanut butter…

Act III: Nightmare fuel

Kidnapping, child sweatshops, dark magic, and Celine Dion… (Basically an onslaught of themes that prey on hard-coded childhood fears.)

For my kids, Bruce and Beau (Ages 9 & 6), they first experienced The Peanut Butter Solution because I had the Severin Films blu-ray! I anticipated a hearty post-movie discussion. I envisioned expressions of shock, bewilderment, and maybe even horror. I set up cameras to capture the experience in hopes of editing a new “Terrible Father” episode for our little YouTube channel. Their reaction: “This is boring…”

To be fair, they had cameras in their faces. I had never done that to them before and I’m sure it had a negative impact. But ‘boring”?! The Peanut Butter Solution isn’t boring. Is it? Am I blinded by nostalgia?

To a certain extent, yes I am. By today’s standards it’s quaint at best, and awkward at worst. It’s a weird little movie that starts off weird and goes completely gonzo by the end. This will endear some, but put off many others.

I believe part of the appeal with a movie like The Peanut Butter Solution is in the discovery process. Ask anyone who remembers experiencing this Canadian 80’s oddity and I’m willing to bet they’ll tell you where they saw it, how they found it, and how the movie made them feel. Maybe you just happened to stumble upon it on HBO (that’s me!). Perhaps you begrudgingly rented it from the kids section of your local store because Mom wouldn’t let you rent The Road Warrior. In any case, part of the mystique of The Peanut Butter Solution was the discovery that you stumbled upon something you shouldn’t have.

Therefore I’m convinced that my boys didn’t enjoy The Peanut Butter Solution because they didn’t stumble upon it organically. I brought it to them. I put it in their hands and said watch this instead of [any Disney owned IP]. I hindered their own self discovery process.

But assuming I hadn’t, unfortunately there’s still a lot prohibiting the self discovery process. As of writing this review, The Peanut Butter Solution is available to stream on Amazon Prime. Obviously as an 80s kid, there was no streaming. You rented a VHS tape or plopped down to watch a broadcast movie. And you tended to stick around until the end. Hypothetically my kiddos could accidentally stumble upon this on Amazon Prime, but because their streaming lifestyles are wound so tightly around Netflix and Disney+ for an ADHD generation, it’s unlikely they’d hang around through the first act of The Peanut Butter Solution.

Ultimately I need a re-do. Maybe if I give it a year, flip on the alternate version and just watch it, perhaps my boys will come around and ‘rediscover the magic’. I’m optimistic that I didn’t set up the proper conditions for the movie.

Or maybe I’m biased because of my own past experiences, but I love this movie. They just don’t make kids movies like The Peanut Butter Solution. On the one hand, it’s innocent fun. On the other hand it’s a kiddie horror movie that strikes at a child’s most potent vulnerabilities and fears. This dad is proud to have it as part of his collection. Kids need more life lessons and less coddling, right?

Don’t worry parents. Everything works out in the end.

The Tech Stuff (4 / 5)

Watching The Peanut Butter Solution is as easy as mixing an experimental concoction from homeless ghosts and slapping that shit on your head! Actually it’s considerably easier than that. Severin Film’s blu-ray (under their new and unnecessary ‘Severin Kids’ banner) looks and sounds really good. Is the image perfect? No, but it’s a major upgrade from the VHS copy that I’m used to watching. The transfer is clean with minimal dirt and flecks, and the color grading is natural. Those of you watching for the first time won’t notice one way or another.

The same goes for the audio. Compared to the old VHS, this is a major upgrade even if the audio is a pretty standard English Mono track. It’s not ‘hair-raising’ (I’m sorry about that) but I doubt you’ll pay the audio much mind while the rest of your brain is blown by the plot. Considering what we had before, I give this blu-ray high technical marks.

Extras (5 / 5)

Now this is where you get your money’s worth! Two versions of the movie. Audio Commentary. Three extended featurette’s that deep-dive into the movie and production company behind The Peanut Butter Solution. Granted, your kids may not sit through this stuff, but let’s be honest. You and I aren’t really buying this for them are we? We just say that so our spouse doesn’t question our buying habits. It’s okay because your secret is safe with me. Go ahead and enjoy these extra goodies!

Extended U.S. Theatrical Release Version
New Commentary with Producer Rock Demers and Actor Matthew MacKay, Moderated by Filmmaker Ara Ball
Human Beings Are The Same All Over: An Interview with Producer Rock Demers
Conrad’s Peanut Butter Solution: An Interview with Siluck Saysanasy
Tales for All: Paul Corupe on Rock Demers and the Canadian Kids Film
Alternate U.S. Theatrical Release Version
Canadian Trailer
Original U.S. Trailer

Trash or Treasure? Overall Recommendation

My kids didn’t appreciate The Peanut Butter Solution. Perhaps I’ve failed as a father. Or maybe there’s something wrong with them. For the time being, I’ll give them the benefit of doubt and assume I didn’t set them up for an enjoyable experience. I’ll slip it in again soon, perhaps with a screening of Hawk Jones. Until then, I encourage all of you to let your kids discover The Peanut Butter Solution for themselves. Whether you drop it in their Amazon Prime watchlist or mix the Severin Films (I mean Severin Kids) blu-ray among their Pixar films, you’ll be giving them both the gift of entertainment and providing emotional scars that are critical for healthy development and angst.