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Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Box

Sort of like a soap opera

By NINA MACLAUGHLIN | July 24, 2007

3.0 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox.

Use Dr. Bronner’s Magic Peppermint Soap to wash your body, shampoo your hair, brush your teeth, deterge your clothes, and swab the kitchen counter. Once the suds of choice for dirty hippies, Dr. Bronner’s is now a staple of the Whole Foods set, and Sara Lamm’s engaging documentary looks at the infamous Dr. B, his “All One God Faith” mission, and the way he sacrificed his family — leaving his sons in orphanages and foster homes — in the name of “uniting this spaceship earth.” His son Ralph still runs the environmentally responsible business, spreading soap — and his father’s gospel — across the land. (He also hugs people a lot, and a run-in with a skateboarder pianist is a bizarre and moving scene.) Bronner came to America from Germany, got tossed in the loony bin, escaped, set up shop in California, and fancied himself a prophet. The curious film mixes rah-rah responsible business practices, a portrait of a man committed to his ideals, and the results it had on his family.

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