The hunt for Susan Powter was quite literal and personal to director Zeberiah Newman. For those of us who grew up in the late ’80s and early ’90s, you couldn’t avoid the fitness icon, especially if you were glued to your television. She was, quite simply, in every realm of entertainment and media. What happens to those who evaporate from public life? Someone remarks towards the end of Newman’s doc that no one went looking for Susan Powter, and this film’s thesis rings loud and clear: If this can happen to someone like her, it can happen to anyone.
At the top of our conversation Newman explains how and why he wanted to make a film about Susan, and you will notice a difference in how he speaks about her compared to how other directors who remark about their leading subject. For queer folks, we are devoted to those we worship, even if they haven’t been in our life on a daily basis or we haven’t thought about them for years at a time. I am sure Newman’s affinity for Susan picked up exactly where it left off.
What you might notice throughout Stop the Insanity is how much Newman’s gaze allows Susan to speak. He could’ve focused on her financial woes, but that story belongs in a different nonfiction piece. You might not see another documentary this year that gives such freedom to its central protagonist. People who remember Susan from the height of her career don’t want a rehash of court cases or standard talking heads–Susan Powter is the reason you tune into this film. For those who are unfamiliar with her workout empire will soon understand not just how people are naturally drawn to her but also that listening should be a weapon in more filmmakers’ arsenals.
Because Newman gains trust in Susan, we feel that she trusts us back. I don’t know if I have seen someone speak so much in such an unfiltered way–it’s like we can’t believe that we are friends with someone famous. At the same time, Newman’s camera keeps filming to achieve rolling arcs through several moments. Before the film ends, we see her run through a gamut of emotions over a haircut she gravely dislikes. In another, she is sitting in the backseat after she had to pay a large amount of money to get her car fixed that will set back her savings. My favorite section comes when she goes through boxes and boxes of items that she forgot she had after production brought them out of storage. It’s joyous and revealing in equal measure.
Stop the Insanity is not about discovering someone again because they were famous. It carries a humanity in its bones that displays how and why we connect with one another and how that connection can evolve, change, pause, or be revived. Bring on the insanity.
Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter is now available to rent.
