Demi Moore’s career has been a captivating journey, marked by highs, public struggles, and a remarkable resilience that has kept her at the forefront of Hollywood’s ever-changing landscape.
Most people have forgotten that Demi Moore was part of the Brat Pack, a nickname coined by New York magazine to describe a group of young actors in their early twenties who starred in a string of films in the mid-1980s. Moore’s breakout role in St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) was a success. Moore reveals in the Hulu documentary Brats (2024) that she was undergoing substance abuse treatment during filming and had a sober companion with her at all times. Yet none of her struggles are visible on screen— Moore is vivacious, charismatic, and sexy in the film. In About Last Night … (1986), romantic dramedy, she was paired with St. Elmo’s Fire co-star Rob Lowe as lovers. Unlike many of the Brat Pack stars, both Moore and Lowe would go on to have successful careers.
In 1987, Moore married Bruce Willis. At the height of her career, Moore got another big break starring alongside Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost (1990). In addition to its huge box office draw, the film was nominated for several Oscars, with Goldberg winning Best Supporting Actress. Moore’s success continued with two major blockbuster films—A Few Good Men (1992) and Indecent Proposal (1993).
By that point, Moore was on top of the world. She was a box office star, had done some substantial films, and was married to an actor whose career was thriving alongside hers. At the peak of her career, she had the power to decide what she would do in Hollywood next. In 1991, she posed nude on Vanity Fair when she was seven months pregnant with her second child, which caused a lot of controversy. .After a streak of successful films in the early 1990s, Moore took on high-profile roles that did not do well. First was the reimagining of a story that many of us had read in high school: The Scarlet Letter (1995). No matter what you thought about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, it was undoubtably better than the film version. The film adaptation transformed the classic story into a steamy romance with a happy ending. Moore defended the changes, calling the original story “very dense and not cinematic” and that the new ending “did not lose the ultimate message of [the protagonist].” Audiences and critics clearly did not agree. Critics thought it was one of the worst films ever made, and it earned just $35 million on a $46 million budget.
Moore had another failure with Striptease (1996). A sexy comedy-thriller, the film starred Moore as a woman who turned to stripping to earn money to fight for child custody of her daughter, all while attracting the unwanted attention of a congressman (played by Burt Reynolds). According to the writer and director, Andrew Bergman, Moore was cast in the role because she was the only major star at the time who was willing to take off her clothes. Film critic Leonard Maltin perfectly describes the film as “Not funny enough, or dramatic enough, or sexy enough, or bad enough, to qualify as entertainment in any category.” She did one last star vehicle G.I. Jane (1997), which she played a woman who is training to become the first female US Navy SEAL and must prove that she is as tough as her male colleagues. G.I. Jane wasn’t as widely ridiculed as her previous two films, but it wasn’t enough to change public perception. By that point, audiences viewed Moore as an actress in films with box office disappointment.
Over the next five years, Moore took a hiatus from acting (with the exception of Passion of Mind(2000)) and faded from the public spotlight. She and Bruce Willis divorced in (2000). Moore returned to the screen in 2003 for Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle as an former angel gone bad, which was a commercial success. Moore had a publicized eight-year marriage to Ashton Kutcher (2005-2012). Kutcher and Moore would separate after six years of marriage. Once the divorce was finalized, Moore would fade again from the spotlight only taking roles in independent films and television. She had a relapse with substance abuse but sought treatment in 2012 and has been sober ever since.
Fast forward to 2024, and Moore was cast in a small indie horror film The Substance. She is perfectly cast as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former A-lister past her prime who is suddenly fired from her fitness TV show by the producer Harvey (played by Dennis Quaid). Distraught from her firing, she gets into a car accident. While being treated in the hospital, a young doctor introduces her to “the substance.” The product transforms Elisabeth into a younger, sexier persona as Sue (played by Margaret Qualley). As Sue, she can attract the attention of most men, including Harvey, who casts Sue to star in the fitness TV show that Elisabeth once led. But there’s a catch: the transformation only lasts seven days. After that, Sue reverts back to being Elisabeth for seven days, then back to Sue for another seven days, and so on. The substance only works as long as Elisabeth/Sue sticks to the seven-day schedule. Unfortunately, Elisabeth/Sue can’t resist the temptation and starts misusing the product, resulting in grotesque body changes.
The Substance could be classified as a “body horror” film. The genre has mainstream examples like Alien (1979), where an alien bursts out of Kane’s (John Hurt) stomach, or The Fly (1986), where Jeff Goldblum slowly transforms into a human fly. The horror lies in the gory images of body changes. The Substance has many scenes of grotesque body changes. As the film progresses, the scenes get more disturbing, graphic, and bloodier. Not to mention, there are no likable major characters. Elisabeth is unable to accept that she is getting older and resorts to self-destructive ways to stay younger. Sue is only interested in men ogling her and refuses to transform back into Elisabeth, as she sees her original form as “old, fat and ugly.” Harvey—a very non-subtle reference to Harvey Weinstein—views women as a “product” rather than as human beings. With grotesque and gory scenes, unlikable characters, and a screentime that goes over two hours, most general audiences may have a hard time sitting through this film.
Yet, The Substance received many Oscar nominations, including Best Actress for Moore. This marks Moore’s first Oscar nomination, and she has already won a Golden Globe for her role.
So what is Moore’s return to pop culture? The answer is the 2024–2025 TV series Landman,starring Billy Bob Thronton, which takes place in the world of West Texas oil rigs. The show currently ranks #6 on the most popular TV list. Moore plays the wife of an oil company president (played by Jon Hamm), though she doesn’t have a major part in the series. However, there are hints that she will play a bigger role in future seasons. Season 2 hasn’t been announced, but given the show’s popularity, we can expect more seasons to come. With an Oscar nomination and a supporting role in a successful TV series, Demi Moore has made a remarkable return to the public spotlight. Her journey has been filled with many of ups and downs, but she has proven to be very resilient. Her story is one of reinvention and perseverance, proving that no matter the setbacks, a true star always finds a way to shine.
