The Johnson family Filmmaker Justin Johnson had anything but a conventional childhood. While his conservative Christian parents in smalltown, Wisconsin were preaching the values of the church and limiting screentime for Justin and his siblings, they also had a secret: They were making custom prosthetic nipples for breast cancer survivors in a hidden room in their home.
Now, Justin is telling his quirky family story in his new documentary, “Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory,” a touching film about a great romance, finding strength in hard times and coming together as a family despite political and religious differences. Mayim Bialik and her company Sad Clown Productions executive produced the documentary, which has been touring the film festival circuit and is streaming on video-on-demand platforms.
“I heard the title and thought, ‘What is happening right now? What is this title?’” Bialik said, laughing. “I couldn’t even imagine what this could possibly be. But when I saw the movie, I discovered that it’s instantly profound. There is so much humor and heart to it. I thought, if there’s any way I can be involved in this and get more people to see it, I would.”
The tagline of “Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory” is, “Some husbands give flowers. Brian built his wife the perfect nipple.” The film follows Brian and Randi Johnson, as well as their children, as they discuss their family life and their reaction to Randi’s breast cancer diagnosis. She undergoes a unilateral mastectomy, which saves her life, but she doesn’t feel whole. To make her feel like herself again, Brian sets out to build his wife a custom prosthetic nipple.
He is successful, and together, the two discretely launch a custom nipple business for other breast cancer survivors, who praise the couple for their work and dedication. At the same time, it tells their love story, showing how dedicated they are to each other.
“There are not a lot of breast cancer documentary rom coms out there,” Justin said.
Bialik has seen breast cancer up close and personal; her grandmother and one of her good friends had it, while many of her friends have gotten tested for the BRCA gene and some preemptively did double mastectomies. She said that, “One of the beautiful things about this film is it has so much humor.”
Justin added, “humor is a survival technique. I do believe that anyone who is in the audience who has gone through a breast cancer journey will see that laughter brings healing. They’ll be in a changing room and a nipple falls off and they search for it like a missing contact lens. They say, ‘Have you seen my nipple?’ There is some absurdity to it, but you have to come at things that way to survive.”
Along with having a good sense of humor, faith is also what kept Brian and Randi going when they were dealing with the diagnosis. Though Bialik is Jewish and the Johnsons are Christian, she related to the faith aspect of their story.
“It felt like a really beautiful place of connection,” she said. “The film pays homage to how strong faith has gotten this family through an extraordinary set of challenges.”
Much of the film focuses not only on the breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent nipple business, but also Justin’s estranged relationship with his parents. He turns the camera on himself, showing how he moved far away from his family when he was younger and, when his mom emailed him that she had cancer, he took a week to respond.
“It was really difficult putting that in the documentary, but it gave us the space, like therapy, to be able to talk about it on a new level and actively repair our relationship,” said Justin, who goes by Justinsuperstar in his professional life. “I was battling with how much of myself to include throughout this process. It was part of becoming whole again.”
Even though Justin and his parents have dissimilar views of the world, making the film has brought them together again and helped them heal. It also serves as a lesson for other families facing the same challenges.
“My parents and I vote differently and believe in different things, which is very in line with a lot of families,” he said. “I tried to become the black sheep of the family, but my parents were proactive and didn’t let that happen. I’m very fortunate and lucky we can be on different sides of the political spectrum and still be able to communicate. I want people to see an American family unified during a divisive time.”
Looking back on the making of “Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory,” Justin said he cherished the opportunity to connect with his mom and dad in this way and make sure their legacy lives on.
“I feel blessed I was able to have these conversations with my parents and understand them,” he said. “I’ll be able to show this documentary to my daughter and say, this is what grandpa and grandma were like, and yes, they built nipples.”
“When I saw the movie, I discovered that it’s instantly profound. There is so much humor and heart to it.” – Mayim Bialik
As for Bialik, she can’t wait for audiences to learn about the Johnsons’ interesting, yet very touching, story.
“We’re grateful to partner with Justin and for the reception we’ve gotten,” she said. “We are excited for people to see it – and be moved by it.”
“Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory” is screening at the Laemmle Town Center 5 on Ventura Boulevard 9/6 – 9/12 at 12:50 PM, 3:05 PM and 7:30 PM.
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