The film follows the troubled life of a housewife living in the suburbs of Baltimore who is treated poorly by her philandering husband who runs a porno theater, two teenage children who both take part in destructive activities, and a mother who constantly steals money from her as she yearns for a different life upon meeting a hunk who seems to be everything she wants. It is a film with a simple premise as it follows Francine Fishpaw (Divine) who has a keen sense of smell that allows her to discover something as well as react to whatever she is dealing with as her life is tumultuous due to the fact that her family are rotten while the only friend she has in Cuddles (Edith Massey) who often helps as she had recently acquired an inheritance from her former employer. John Waters’ screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative as well as being this study of a housewife who has endured a lot of abuse from her family as well as having to tend to them no matter how selfish they are. Yet, she does get glimmers of hope upon seeing this man in Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter) as she wouldn’t meet him properly until its third act.
Waters’ direction is definitely stylish as it owes a lot of the melodramatic films of Douglas Sirk in the 1950s as it is shot on location near areas in Baltimore, Maryland. While its look and tone has a lot of elements that Sirk is known for, Waters does put in his own style as far as its approach to bad taste as it relates to the fact that Francine’s family are terrible with her husband Elmer (David Samson) runs a porno theater as he enjoys the publicity he gets while is openly having an affair with his secretary Sandra (Mink Stole). Her daughter Lu-Lu (Mary Garlington) is promiscuous young woman that is in destructive relationship with a young degenerate in Bo-Bo Belsinger while her son Dexter (Ken King) is a teenage glue-sniffer who has gained notoriety in stomping feet in various areas in Baltimore as Waters infuses a lot of dark humor to play into Francine’s own plight as he also creates some unique compositions in the medium shots and close-ups that add to the drama and offbeat humor.
Since the film features a gimmick known as Odorama that allows audience to smell the things Francine smells through a scratch-and-sniff card as it opens with a scientist in Dr. Arnold Quackenshaw (Rick Breitenfeld) who talks about the gimmick as it is presented in a 1:33:1 aspect ratio as it is a comical sequence which then puts the film into its 1:85:1 aspect ratio. Waters would also use wide shots to play into the locations but also in a sequence in the third act when Francine meets Todd properly for the first time as they would spend the day together. It all plays into this strange approach to melodrama with Waters also infusing a lot of these quirky elements as well as doing things that subvert the melodrama in favor of the need to be provocative in a fun way. Overall, Waters crafts a witty yet heartfelt film about a woman trying to find happiness in an unhappy family life.
Cinematographer David Insley does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its colorful approach to its daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as using soft lighting for some scenes involving fantasy while maintaining some style for some of the scenes set at night. Editor Charles Roggero does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some style in some of the fantasy bits involving slow-motion bits as well as a few jump-cuts to play into its offbeat humor. Art director Vincent Perano and set decorator Beth Sheldon do amazing work with the look of the home that Francine and her family live in with its colorful furniture as well as her bedroom as it owes a lot to the visual style of Douglas Sirk. Costume/makeup designer Van Smith does fantastic work with the costumes from some of the lavish clothes that Cuddles wear as well as the punk-rock trash that Lu-Lu and Dexter wear as well as the look of Francine that adds to the film’s melodramatic tone.
Sound editor Skip Lievsay does superb work with the sound as it plays into not just some of the natural elements but also in some enhanced sound effects to help play into the film’s offbeat humor. The film’s music by Chris Stein and Michael Kamen with lyrics by Deborah Harry is wonderful for its mixture of punk and new wave with orchestral elements as it sort of serves as a parody of melodramatic film scores while the original songs including its theme sung by Tab Hunter as well as a punk-inspired song sung by Kamen and a love song sung by Bill Murray.
The casting by Pat Moran is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances Mary Vivian Pearce and Sharon Niesp as a couple of nuns who would take Lu-Lu away to a convent, Jean Hill as a gospel bus hijacker who decided to get revenge on Lu-Lu and Bo-Bo, Cookie Mueller and Susan Lowe as a couple of foot-stomping victims of Dexter, Michael Watson as Lu-Lu’s clean-cut date who was coerced to do something for Bo-Bo, and Rick Breitenfeld as Dr. Arnold Quackenshaw who appears in the film’s first scene as the man who presents the Odorama card and what to do in a comical manner. Hans Kramm is terrific as Cuddles’ chauffeur Heintz as a German man who would help Cuddles and Francine as well as being a companion to Cuddles. Stiv Bators is superb as Bo-Bo Belsinger as Lu-Lu’s degenerate boyfriend who likes to cause mayhem and such while being a total asshole to everyone he sees despite his love for Lu-Lu.
Joni Ruth White is fantastic as Francine’s parasitic mother La Rue who constantly steals from Francine and wants to live an upper class lifestyle as well as to feed her own cocaine addiction. Mink Stole is excellent as Elmer’s secretary Sandra who likes to engage in perverse activities with Elmer while having a hairstyle similar to Bo Derek from 10. Ken King and Mary Garlington are brilliant in their respective roles as Francine’s teenage children in Dexter and Lu-Lu with the former being a glue-sniffing punk who likes to stomp on women’s feet in an act of pleasure while the latter is a nymphomaniac of sorts who hates her mother and is in love with Bo-Bo as they both would endure their own crises in their lives. Edith Massey is amazing as Francine’s best friend Cuddles as a simple-minded yet kind woman who helps Francine in every way while sharing bits of her inheritance for a good life with a newfound companion in her chauffeur.
David Samson is incredible as Francine’s husband Elmer as this porno theater owner who is the embodiment of sleaze as he treats Francine like shit and does everything he could to humiliate her in every way and flaunt his affairs in front of her. Tab Hunter is great as Todd Tomorrow as this man who is the embodiment of everything Francine wants yet Hunter brings elements of ambiguity that makes him more interesting than some good looking hunk. Finally, there’s Divine in a phenomenal performance as Francine Fishpaw as an unhappy housewife with a unique sense of smell as she is eager for a happier life despite going into alcoholism as well as being humiliated as it has Divine showing his range in melodrama while also playing a character that is just trying to be a good woman and a good mother to her kids despite the shit she had to deal with.
Polyester is a sensational film from John Waters that features a tremendous leading performance from Divine. Along with its supporting cast, colorful visuals, its mixture of satire and homage to melodramas, and a fun music soundtrack. It is a film that isn’t just this fun comedy-drama that sort of makes fun of melodramas but also a film that explores a woman trying to find happiness in a world where she is treated terribly by her awful husband, delinquent teenage kids, and a parasitic mother. In the end, Polyester is a phenomenal film from John Waters.
John Waters: (Mondo Trash) – Multiple Maniacs - Pink Flamingos - Female Trouble - (Desperate Living) – (Hairspray (1988 film)) – (Cry-Baby) – (Serial Mom) – (Pecker) – (Cecil B. Demented) – (A Dirty Shame) – (Liarmouth)
© thevoid99 2023
Formed in 1964 by Lou Reed and the Welsh musician John Cale that would later include Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker, the Velvet Underground was a band that were part of Andy Warhol’s art scene known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable as the band would also include the German model/actress Nico. Through four studio albums from 1967 to 1970, the band would make music that was considered dangerous, avant-garde, and extreme in comparison to the music in the American west coast as they were never commercial successful initially. Yet, the music they made as well as some of the solo recordings from Reed, Cale, and Nico would prove to be influential to many as it laid the ground work for punk, post-punk, alternative music, indie, noise-pop, and all kinds of music.
The film chronicles not just the band’s formation but also the art culture they were in that also included forms of art, cinema, and music as if it was a scene onto its own. Featuring interviews with surviving members John Cale and Maureen Tucker as well as Lou Reed’s sister Merrill Reed Weiner and Sterling Morrison’s widow Martha plus several of Reed’s childhood friends, actress Mary Woronov, musicians Jackson Browne and Jonathan Richman, music industry figure Danny Fields, film historian Amy Taubin, avant-garde artist La Monte Young, filmmaker John Waters, and experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas in one of his final interviews before his passing in January 2019. The film doesn’t showcase the art world as well as the emergence of avant-garde music in the 1960s that was prevalent in New York City. It also showed the background of its four core members with Reed and Cale being the two dominant forces as the former lived in suburbia following a move from the city as Merrill said it affected him emotionally. Cale was from a small town in Wales where he had a grandmother that hated the English and hated the fact that her daughter married an Englishman and Cale didn’t learn English until he was 7.
The film also talked about Reed’s struggle to succeed as he did have bits of minor success where, through audio archives, he claimed that the one royalty check he had for less than $3 was more than everything he made when he was with the Velvet Underground. Cale talked about how he met Reed and they were part of a band called the Primitives where they had local success in Long Island with a song called The Ostrich though it was clear that Reed wanted to do more as the songs he was writing were much darker such as Heroin. Cale would play a role in helping those songs develop even though he barely knew how to play bass and guitar as he was more accomplished in piano and viola with his classical background. The two would bring in Sterling Morrison whom Reed knew back in Syracuse while Morrison brought in Maureen Tucker after original drummer Angus MacLise left the group. Much of the film’s first half is about their formation and how they became part of Andy Warhol’s social circle where they were the house band at his home base known as the Factory.
The first half talked about how Nico came into the group as she was known largely as a model/actress that was part of Warhol’s circle as she was used mainly as someone the band could bring in to help give them visibility. Yet, Nico proved to be a vital contributor to the band despite only being in the band for nearly a year as she left wanting to do her own music and other things as her departure is what had the Velvets break up with Warhol though Cale admitted that he didn’t know about it and didn’t want to break from Warhol. Cale and Tucker revealed that the second album White Light/White Heat was made mainly from their experience on the road where they had some horrendous shows in California as the band admitted they hated the hippies and they hated Frank Zappa. Jonathan Richman saw the band during the shows promoting the second album as he met the band and was given guitar lessons from Morrison while also being aware of the tension that was happening in the band that lead to Cale’s departure in September of 1968.
The second half does cover the second album but also brief insight into the third and fourth album with Cale’s replacement Doug Yule who is only heard through audio interviews along with Morrison before his death in 1995. Notably as it play into Reed’s desire to be successful as well as the fact that the band did have a loyal following in the American east coast despite their lack of commercial success. The frustration over the lack of success as well as tension in the band eventually led to Reed’s departure while they wisely talk about the fact that the band lead by Yule and other musicians made one more album that many say isn’t a Velvets album and never should be considered to be a Velvets album.
Haynes’ direction is stylized in not just using a lot of the experimental films from that scene into some stylish montages with the help of editors Affonso Goncalves and Adam Kurnitz but also in showcasing rare footage from those shows the band played during the time. Some of the editing montages is played in the style of the avant-garde films from Mekas, Stan Brakhage, and Warhol where Haynes also showcase that world where the Velvets were part of this world that included whip dances with Mary Woronov and Gerard Malanga while there’s a bunch of films playing around them. The interviews are straightforward as they’re shot from 2017 to 2019 as Haynes and cinematographer Edward Lachman have the people in a room as they’re relaxed with Merrill doing a dance to The Ostrich as it adds to Reed’s genius as a songwriter as it made his sister dance.
Sound designer Leslie Shatz help cultivate many of the audio interviews as some came from other documentaries and such as it help tell the story but also in some of the sound collages including the demos of those songs by the Velvets. Music supervisor Randall Poster compile not just a lot of the music of the Velvets including the individual work of Reed, Cale, and Nico but also some of the avant-garde music that came before them from John Cage and La Monte Young as well as some of the rock n’ roll and classical music that Reed and Cale were into as well as some of the music in the Mamas & the Papas that the Velvets didn’t like. It all play into the world that the Velvets and Warhol came from and what Bill Graham was trying to present in San Francisco as the latter definitely seem to envy what Warhol did where Tucker stated that Graham just tried to ruin them.
The film also play into the impact the group had in the world of music but also through art following Reed’s departure as there were brief reunions in the early 70s such as a legendary show at the Bataclan in Paris with Reed, Cale, and Nico as the members kept in touch. Even though Andy Warhol died in 1987 with Nico following a year later, the band minus Yule reunited in 1993 for a successful reunion tour that was supposed to go to the U.S. only for tension between Reed and Cale ended things. Following Sterling Morrison’s death in 1995, Reed, Cale, and Tucker reunited for 1996 Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame as well as performing a tribute to Morrison. Reed would die in October 2013 leaving Cale and Tucker as the surviving original members along with Doug Yule.
Through the records they made, the Velvet Underground would prove to have a lasting influence in popular music as their debut album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2006. Musician/producer Brian Eno stated that when the album only sold 30,000 five years into its existence upon its release, those people who bought those 30,000 copies started a band as it proved the influence they would have on popular music. In 1991, the album was certified gold in the U.S. having then sold 560,000 copies proving that the band did indeed have an impact.
The Velvet Underground is a tremendous film from Todd Haynes. It is a documentary film that doesn’t just cover one of the greatest and influential bands of the 20th Century but also the art culture they were from as well as the individuals who made the band so special. It’s a film that does sort of play by conventions in terms of its narrative yet the presentation is anything but conventional as it play into the spirit of what made the Velvet Underground so unique in their time. In the end, The Velvet Underground is a spectacular film from Todd Haynes.
Todd Haynes Films: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - Poison - Dottie Gets Spanked - Safe (1995 film) - Velvet Goldmine - Far from Heaven - I'm Not There - Mildred Pierce (2011 TV Miniseries) - Carol - Wonderstruck - Dark Waters (2019 film) - The Auteurs #3: Todd Haynes
© thevoid99 2022
The film revolves around a feud over the idea of who is the filthiest person in the world as a drag queen was given that title by a local tabloid which upsets a couple who wants to that title. It’s a film that doesn’t have much of a plot as it plays into the exploits of this drag queen who lives in a trailer under an alias with her mentally ill mother, a delinquent son, and her traveling companion as they do gross things while pushing the boundaries of what is obscene as John Waters’ screenplay isn’t just this study of filth but also what a few people will do to outdo the ideas of filth. Notably as this couple in Connie and Raymond Marbles (Mink Stole and David Lochary, respectively) are appalled by the antics of Divine aka Babs Johnson (Divine) who does disgusting things but not into the realm of something evil that the Marbles do as they kidnap young women for their servant Channing (Channing Wilroy) to rape and impregnate so they can sell babies to lesbian couples. Yet, the Marbles do whatever they can to try and humiliate Divine and her family but are unaware that Divine can do much worse.
Waters’ direction has a crudeness not just in its look and low-budget aesthetics but there’s also something that feels real as well in the way he captures the life of these unique characters. Shot on location largely in Phoenix, Maryland as well as parts of Baltimore, Waters does aim for straightforward compositions while also infusing a few tracking shots such as a scene where Divine walks in the city as a car is filming her in a wide-medium shot. Serving as the film’s cinematographer, Waters doesn’t go for any kind of stylish lighting as much of the film is shot in the day with a few scenes at night where Waters maintains a looseness to the presentation with hand-held cameras as well as this air of improvisation that gives the film an air of realism. Even in scenes that play into the extremity of what is decency and obscenity such as Divine’s son Cracker (Danny Mills) having sex with a woman along with a chicken. Also serving as editor, Waters keeps much of the cutting straightforward while he also provides narration as an off-screen character enjoys the crude antics of Divine.
Waters also does go into these ideas of offbeat behavior as Raymond is someone that likes to flash people while having a kielbasa or a piece of meat attached to his penis. Even as he is willing to break taboos that includes a contortionist who does trick with his asshole that is just disgusting to watch yet it also intriguing to watch. Even as the boundaries of what is obscene gets pushed further into the film’s third act that includes this eventual confrontation between Divine and the Marbles. All of which plays into the idea of who is the filthiest person in the world where Waters would have one more thing for the finale to up the ante of what is repulsion. Overall, Waters crafts a filthy, disgusting, and fucking hilarious film about a drag queen battling a couple of assholes for the title of the filthiest person in the world.
Production designer Vincent Peranio does excellent work with the look of Divine’s trailer as well as the home of the Marbles with their posters and kitsch furniture. Costume designer/makeup artist Van Smith does fantastic work with the look of Divine as well as the dresses that she wears. Sound recordist Bill Porter does terrific work with the sound as it is straightforward in playing up to the locations and the atmosphere in a scene including the party scene. The film’s incredible music soundtrack as it features pieces from Little Richard, Link Wray, the Centurions, LaVern Baker, Bill Haley & His Comets, the Nighthawks, the Tyrones, the Trashmen, Patti Page, the Robins, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, and the Tune Weavers as it help play into the film’s offbeat tone.
The film’s casting is superb as it features appearances from David E. Gluck as the contortionist, Elizabeth Coffey as a person Raymond would flash at, Susan Walsh and Linda Olgierson as a couple of women the Marbles kidnap for Channing to rape and impregnate, Pat Moran (in a deleted scene in the 1997 reissue) as a friend of Divine in Patty Hitler, Steve Yeager as a news reporter, Paul Swift as the egg man that Edie loves, Channing Wilroy as the Marbles’ servant who rapes and impregnate kidnapped women, and Cookie Mueller as a woman the Marbles hire to spy on Crackers and have sex with him. Edith Massey is fantastic as Divine’s mentally-ill mother Edie who eats nothing but eggs as well as sit inside a little playpen while Danny Mills is terrific as Divine’s son Cracker who likes to fuck chickens and do perverse things. Mary Vivian Pearce is excellent as Divine’s accomplice/friend Cotton as a woman who not only enjoys perverse content but also do whatever she can to deal with the Marbles.
Mink Stole and David Lochary are amazing in their respective roles in Connie and Raymond Marble as this perverse and evil couple who like to kidnap women for their servant to rape with Stole sporting bright orange hair and Lochary with blue hair as they do whatever to try and outdo Divine. Finally, there’s Divine in a tremendous performance as Divine/Babs Johnson as a drag queen who is known for being outrageously filthy and disgusting where Divine just adds a lot of charisma to a role that demands a lot of that where Divine plays up this larger-than-life character as it is a definitive performance from the late drag queen.
Pink Flamingos is a phenomenally revolting film from John Waters. Featuring a great cast lead by Divine, a fun music soundtrack, a crude yet engaging look, and its willingness to be offensive and disgusting. It is a film that isn’t afraid to be outlandish but also unafraid to be ridiculous in its offbeat and crass humor. In the end, Pink Flamingos is a sensational film from John Waters.
John Waters Films: (Mondo Trash) – Multiple Maniacs - Female Trouble - (Desperate Living) – Polyester – (Hairspray) – (Cry-Baby) – (Serial Mom) – (Pecker) – (Cecil B. Demented) – (A Dirty Shame) - (Liarmouth)
© thevoid99 2021
Written, directed, shot, co-edited, co-composed, and produced by John Waters, Female Trouble is the story of a young woman’s life from a bratty teenager to an insane mass murderer as it all relates from her parents’ refusal to buy her cha-cha high heels as a Christmas present. The film is an unconventional portrayal of a woman’s life as her desire to be famous or infamous eventually leads to all sorts of trouble. Starring Divine, Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Edith Massey, and Cookie Mueller. Female Trouble is an outrageously wild and exhilarating film from John Waters.
The film is about the life of Dawn Davenport (Divine) who would gain notoriety through acts of crime, being a model for a freakish art couple, and creating all sorts of trouble all because her parents didn’t get cha-cha high heels for her during Christmas when she was a troubled teenager. It’s a film with a simple premise as John Waters creates a story that play into this character’s life from a bratty teenager who doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere into society and ultimately gets accepted through her love of sex and violence. It starts off with Davenport in high school not giving a shit about homework or anything as she runs away from home on Christmas when the present she receives from her parents isn’t cha-cha high heels.
There, she meets and gets raped by a man named Earl (Divine) while stealing his wallet and have his child in Taffy whom she would grow to dislike. She would marry a hairdresser in Gater (Michael Potter) as the marriage is tumultuous mainly because Gater is gay as his aunt Ida (Edith Massey) forced the marriage upon them. Davenport would divorce Gater as she meets the art freaks Donald and Donna Dasher (David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pearce, respectively) who would make her into a model much to the dismay of Ida and Taffy (Mink Stole).
Waters’ direction is largely straightforward in the compositions he creates yet it is the outlandish presentation of Davenport’s world as she lives in and around Baltimore, Maryland that adds to the film’s charm. While there are some wide shots in some of the presentation including Davenport walking on the streets of Baltimore modeling and posing and a stage show in the film’s climax, much of the direction has Waters use medium shots and close-ups to play into Davenport’s antics and misadventures that include her getting raped or just wreaking havoc.
Serving as the film’s cinematographer and co-editing the film with Charles Roggero, Waters keeps much of the visual ideas straightforward while employing some jump-cuts for some of the film’s chaotic and violent moments. Even in the scene where Davenport gets raped as Waters also employ moments that are there to shock that include some of the violent acts that Davenport commits though some of it is justified. Waters also maintains this approach to offbeat humor that can be dark but it also has that outrageous element where the film never takes itself seriously. Overall, Waters crafts a dangerous yet compelling film about the life of a woman who becomes violent and insane all because her parents didn’t get her cha-cha high heels for Christmas.
Art director Vincent Peranio does amazing work with the look of the apartment that Davenport lives in as well as the new look it’s given when she becomes successful as well as the lavish home of the Dashers. Costume/makeup designer Van Smith does fantastic work with the clothes that Davenport wears as it play into her evolving style as well as the ultra-tight leather clothes that Ida wears while the makeup is also outrageous including the look Davenport would have after an incident caused by Ida. The special effects work of Ed Peranio is terrific as it help play into some of the violence and chaos that Davenport creates that add to the film’s shock value.
The sound work of Bob Maier is superb for capturing the natural sounds as well as other sound effects to play into the raucous tone of the film. Music by John Waters and Bob Harvey is wonderful for its mixture of raunchy blues and jazz to play into the film’s offbeat humor that includes the title song sung by Divine while its music soundtrack feature an array of music from Gene Autry, Ruby Wright, Chuck Rio & the Originals, the Frogmen, Bill Black’s Combo, Jimmy Drake, and a couple of classical music pieces by Richard Wagner and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
The film’s marvelous cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Channing Wilroy as a prosecutor, Hilary Taylor as the young Taffy, George Figgs, Paul Swift, and Ed Peranio as a trio of friends of Davenport at the salon and other gatherings, Cookie Mueller and Susan Walsh as a couple of Davenport’s cohorts in their respective roles in Concetta and Chiclette Flair who both engage in criminal activities, and Michael Potter as Davenport’s husband Gater who is also Ida’s nephew as he struggles with his sexuality but also his frustrations towards Davenport and Taffy. Edith Massey is fantastic as Ida as Gater’s fat aunt who likes to wear leather as she despises Davenport and would unknowingly play into her ascent.
David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pearce are brilliant in their respective roles as the art couple Donald and Donna Dasher as two people who find something in Davenport and exploit her for their own gain but also enable her outrageous behavior to the point that it becomes too much. Mink Stole is excellent as Davenport’s daughter Taffy as a teenager/adult as a young woman wearing undergrown dresses as she is frustrated by her mother as she tries to find herself and deal with neglect she endures from her mother. Finally, there’s Divine in a phenomenal performance in the dual role of the protagonist Dawn Davenport and her rapist Earl Peterson. In the role of the latter, Divine provides a sleaziness to the character of Peterson as he’s a slob as well as a drunk that has no morals for anything or anyone. In the role of Davenport, Divine just adds that element of energy and liveliness to a character that is repulsive in her violent actions and bratty behavior but also has a charm that is just insatiable as it is one of Divine’s iconic performances.
Female Trouble is an incredible film from John Waters that features a spectacular leading performance from Divine. Along with its superb ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, playful music score, and bordering the line of provocative and shock. The film is a fascinating exploration into the life of a woman with a thirst for notoriety and violence all because she never got cha-cha high heels for Christmas. In the end, Female Trouble is a sensational film from John Waters.
John Waters Films: (Mondo Trash) – Multiple Maniacs - Pink Flamingos – (Desperate Living) – Polyester – (Hairspray) – (Cry-Baby) – (Serial Mom) – (Pecker) – (Cecil B. Demented) – (A Dirty Shame) - (Liarmouth)
© thevoid99 2020
Written, directed, shot, edited, and scored by John Waters, Multiple Maniacs is the story of a troupe of sideshow freaks who rob spectators as its leader decide to go on a killing spree after being betrayed by her boyfriend. The film is an outlandish dark comedy that involves characters who go beyond the idea of bad taste as they also go all out in killing people. Starring Divine, Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Cookie Mueller, Edith Massey, and George Figgs as Jesus Christ. Multiple Maniacs is a strange and outrageous film from John Waters.
The film is about a drag queen who leads a troupe of sideshow freaks who present a show where they invite people and rob them but things get a little bit more violent eventually leading to its leader going on a killing spree after being betrayed by her boyfriend. It’s a film with a simple premise that doesn’t have much plot yet John Waters does create a story that begins with a presentation of sideshow that includes a guy eating his puke, two guys making out with each other, and all sorts of fucked-up shit as the spectators are then captured and robbed until its leader Lady Divine (Divine) decides to kill them. Her boyfriend Mr. David (David Lochary) was surprised by the idea as he decides to leave with a woman named Bonnie (Mary Vivian Pearce) who wanted to join the troupe but was rejected by Lady Divine. After learning of the betrayal and a troubled encounter with a couple of glue-sniffers, Lady Divine endures a crisis of faith until she meets Mink (Mink Stole) who becomes her new lover as they plan on getting revenge on Mr. David.
Waters’ direction is engaging as it play up to many of the film’s low-budget aesthetics as it is shot in grainy 16mm black-and-white film stock and on location in Baltimore, Maryland. With its usage of hand-held cameras and some long shots that occur, Waters’ direction does maintain this element of shock value in some of the activities of Lady Divine and her troupe as it does border the idea of what was considered bad taste as some of it still maintains its shock value. While there are some wide and medium shots of the locations including a few sequences that play into Lady Divine’s crisis of faith that feature Jesus Christ being crucified as he’s portrayed as a hippie. There are some close-ups that play into some of the action and conversations as the grainy look of the film courtesy of Waters as the film’s cinematographer while he also maintains some straightforward bits in the editing along with some jump-cuts in some of the surreal scenes.
Yet, it adds to the film’s offbeat tone while Waters is aware of the limitations he has in his budget but it works to his advantage. Even if there’s moments of violence where there’s no gunfire being shown yet it’s the impact of the violence that makes it important. Even in the film’s climax as it involves this large lobster-like monster that is created by Vincent Paranio as it’s one of those moments that is baffling yet it kind of makes sense. It is Waters pushing the ideas of what is bad taste and what is shocking as he would definitely succeed as well as show the cruelty of violence in a drag queen gone mad. Overall, Waters crafts an insane yet riveting film about a drag queen whose thirst for violence increases after her lover leaves her for a woman rejected from the queen’s gang of sideshow freaks.
Special effects by Ed Peranio is terrific for some of the macabre approach to humor as well as the scene with the lobster-like monster. The sound work of Ryan Hullings from its 2016 restoration edition is superb as it help intensify some of the sound effects and audio presented in the film. John Waters’ score is wonderful for its kitsch-like score of weird psychedelic music and offbeat pop while some of the orchestral bits come from George S. Clinton.
The film’s brilliant cast feature some notable small roles from George Figgs as a hippie-like version of Jesus Christ, Paul Swift as a druggie named Steve that is dating Lady Divine’s daughter Cookie, Michael Renner Jr. as a perverse version of the Infant of Prague, and Edith Massey in a dual role as the barmaid Edith and a warped version of the Virgin Mary. Cookie Mueller is fantastic as Lady Divine’s daughter Cookie as a young woman who is often seen topless as she engages in sexual activities to shock people. Mink Stole is excellent as a weird religious woman named Mink whom Lady Divine meets as she performs a strange sexual act to Lady Divine inside a church as she decides to help her kill Mr. David.
Mary Vivian Pearce is amazing as Bonnie as a woman who wants to be part of Lady Divine’s troupe but is rejected as she engages in an affair with Mr. David and plots to kill Lady Divine. David Lochary is superb as Mr. David as the emcee of the troupe and Lady Divine’s boyfriend as he becomes tired of Lady Divine’s antics prompting him to engage in an affair and kill Lady Divine. Finally, there’s Divine in a phenomenal performance as Lady Divine where he displays this brash personality into the role of a drag queen who has a thirst for violence and feels betrayed where Divine just adds a lot of charisma and attitude into that character.
Multiple Maniacs is a marvelous film from John Waters that features a great performance from Divine. Along with its ensemble cast, provocative and confrontational tone, low-budget aesthetics, and its willingness to shock. The film is definitely not for everyone as it also contains elements that are still shocking as well as play into this drag queen going mad. In the end, Multiple Maniacs is a remarkable film from John Waters.
John Waters Films: (Mondo Trash) – Pink Flamingos – Female Trouble – (Desperate Living) – Polyester – (Hairspray) – (Cry-Baby) – (Serial Mom) – (Pecker) – (Cecil B. Demented) – (A Dirty Shame) - (Liarmouth)
© thevoid99 2020
Based on the book by Stuart Samuels, Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream is a documentary film that is about the culture of the midnight movies in the 1970s as it played to an audience needing an escape from the turmoil that had emerged in the late 1960s. Directed by Stuart Samuels and written by Samuels and Victor Kushmaniak, the film explore the six films that would define the midnight movie culture in that decade as well as what it did for the film industry before the emergence of home video and the blockbuster period in films. The result is a fascinating and exciting film from Stuart Samuels.
In the 1970s following a tumultuous period that saw political unrest, culture wars, assassinations, and other things that defined the late 1960s. Audiences wanting an escape from that turmoil as well as mainstream culture where screenings of low-budget films that were outside of the mainstream suddenly became cultural phenomenon. Among them were Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, John Waters’ Pink Flamingos, Perry Henzell’s The Harder They Come, Jim Sharman’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and David Lynch’s Eraserhead. These films that didn’t play by the rules nor were they created or funded by studios, with the exception of Rocky Horror, were films that became successful through midnight screenings in theaters around America based on word of mouth.
With interviews from filmmakers in Alejandro Jodorwsky, John Waters, George A. Romero, David Lynch, and Perry Henzell as well as Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien and that film’s producer Lou Adler plus film critics Roger Ebert, J. Hoberman, and Jonathan Rosenbaum. They all talk about the impact of the midnight movie culture where many believe the man responsible for making it happen is Ben Barenholtz who opened the Elgin Cinema in 1968 in New York City and was the one who showed El Topo in 1970 as a midnight movie knowing that it wasn’t some conventional film. For six months at the Elgin Cinema, the film played to sell-out audiences as it started this culture of the midnight movies. The films that were played at Elgin as well as other theatres around the U.S. would play these different kind of films that definitely appealed to an audience that didn’t want to the mainstream films of the times.
Other films such as Tod Browning’s Freaks and Louis J. Gasnier’s Reefer Madness were also part of the midnight movie circuits as they were films from the 1930s that were never well-received as they found new life. Largely because they were films that played to an audience that wanted to see films that weren’t about ordinary people or those that are larger than life. Stuart Samuels’ direction is straightforward as he shoots many of the interviews with the filmmakers and critics talking at the camera with either a film clip or a poster in the background with the aid of cinematographer Richard Fox. With the aid of editors Michael Bembenek, Robert J. Coleman, John Dowding, Lorenzo Massa, and Kevin Rollins as well as the sound work of Euan Hunter, Samuels’ usage of film clips plus newspaper clippings and reports showcase the phenomenon that these films had as well as what it did to the film industry.
Its decline and end definitely doesn’t just attribute to the rise of the home video market but also the blockbuster films such as Jaws and Star Wars where it appealed to a wide audience and were financially profitable. Filmmakers and film critics believe that decline definitely saw audiences interact less and not bother discovering films that don’t play by the rules. Samuels’ direction would play into that decline but also that sense of interest towards those films but also the idea of the midnight movie screening. The film’s music by Eric Cadesky and Nick Dyer is wonderful as it’s mainly low-key in its electronic setting to play into the different type of films that is featured in the documentary.
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream is a marvelous film from Stuart Samuels. It’s not only a compelling documentary that explores the brief but immense popularity of the midnight films but also a look into the filmmakers and films that definitely gave audiences a fitting alternative from the mainstream as well as something that would become phenomenon in their own way. In the end, Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream is a remarkable film from Stuart Samuels.
Related: Freaks - Night of the Living Dead - El Topo - Pink Flamingos - The Harder They Come - (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) - Eraserhead
© thevoid99 2016
