The documentary begins in the dead of night, with a view of a one-story house with aluminum siding. We cut to a bathroom within, where we see DVDs piled in a corner. Leftover souvenirs from a 1990s media empire, it turns out.
Its empress, the onetime “fitness guru” Susan Powter, 67, has seen better days. The documentary “Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter,” directed by Zeberiah Newman and executive produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, is commendably blunt about Powter’s prospects delivering Uber Eats orders. She is picky about which offers she accepts, however. She likes the ones that will net her more than three dollars.
On her wildly popular ’90s television shows and DVDs, she decried fad diets — that’s the “insanity” that needed stopping — and promoted weight control via exercise and sensible eating. It was common sense powered by a lot of sloganeering, made compelling by Powter’s signature look: colorful sweats and a platinum blonde buzz cut. After some bad business decisions and lawsuits, Powter’s fall from her “queen of the infomercial” perch resulted in bankruptcy and financial insecurity.
But her current straits have apparently done nothing to tamp down her ego or lessen her volubility. Curtis shows up late in the picture, and her grounded presence helps Powter’s hard-luck story resonate more sympathetically. The documentary ends not with the promise of a comeback, but with a resolution to restore some, well, sanity to Powter’s life.
Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. In theaters.
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