Originally Posted By Labuda Ok, so... for those of you who've seen this classic John Waters film - dare I finish it? Started watching it this past Sunday morning with my DH, but he had me turn it off about 45 minutes into it (right after the chicken scene), and I'm not entirely sure if I can stomach the rest of it! lol Sooooooo, what do you, O Great & Powerful LPers, think? As a big John Waters fan, should I try to slog through the rest of this, or live forever knowing that that chicken scene was the last bit of the movie that I saw?
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 Hmmmmmmmm.... The neurotic part of me would really want to see the rest of the film. The part of me that loves "Polyester" and "Hairspray" and "Pecker" says: Don't watch the rest of "Pink Flamingos." Don't sully your image of John Waters as a twisted guy who is really sweet at the core. And skip "Cecil B. DeMented." Yuch.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I've never hard of either the flim or the actor. I think I live in a cave. What? Did someone say Shakira Shakira?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Wow... I've always had a certain appreciation of the bizarre, but John Waters is way too over the edge for me.
Originally Posted By idleBrain John Waters is definitely an acquired taste. Funny as heck when he speaks at film screenings as well. And if you can't stomach Pink Flamingos, then forget Female Trouble. "Nice girls don't wear cha-cha heels." 8^D I57, I love your list! In fact, I was watching Pecker just a few days ago. One of my favorite Waters cameo is in that film, when he plays the obscene crank caller to the laundromat. "Come on, be a good little girl and put your v***** (female birth canal) up to the phone." I have no idea why anyone would make such a request. But that one line sums up John Waters nicely! LOL!!
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb ummm Pongo my dear sweet innocent... John Waters is a film maker and only an actor in that he does cameos. Me thinks you'd best stay away from Pink Flamingos (I myself only know it by it's reputation).
Originally Posted By gadzuux Pink Flamingos was a product of it's time - the early seventies. If you're really a fan of john waters, you should probably see it - but view it as a kind of relic of that era, so you have a better understanding of where waters and divine sprang from. But the movie requires some context. It was generally shown as a "midnight movie" in a theater, with hundreds of people all being shocked collectively. Yes, it's a lotta laughs in a tawdry kind of way. But I don't think I would enjoy it today in the same way I did when I was eighteen, the movie was relatively new and hip, and I was seeing it with a group of friends out for an evening. Watching it today on a tv in your living room as a dvd is a completely different thing. And for the record, as early john waters films go, I think 'desperate living' is a better film.
Originally Posted By DAR My first exposure to his films were Cry Baby and Serial Mom. And both are so goofy they're kind of endearing.
Originally Posted By ToonKirby >with hundreds of people all being shocked collectively.< More like "stoned" collectively ...
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I think gadzuux got it right. I think you should watch it if you have the right mindset: this was made in the early 70's by people trying to push the envelope, do what you "couldn't" do, shock people at a midnight movie, and basically trying to be transgressive as an end in itself. And as much as I still crack up just thinking about Edith Massey and her undying love for eggs (and the eggman), I do think the best early Waters movie was Female Trouble. Same basic ethos as PF, but funnier. (And Divine raping himself has to be one of the weirdest meta-moments in all of cinema. Or at least Baltimore cinema.)
Originally Posted By Labuda Yeah, I do realize that it's a product of its time, but I'm just not sure I can stomach what's coming up, as I've already been getting weirded out by the egg thing. lol But, I'm still tyring to figure out if I want to watch this or not - I am neurotic enought hat if I start a film, I feel like I have to finish it, BUT there's always 7 Samurai and some godawful movie about a plane crash that involved bank robbers or something - whatever it was, it was just horrendous. Those two I've not seen all the way through, burt everything else, I have....
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Yeah, John Waters (at least his early stuff) is either love or hate. I agree that Female Trouble is a better "early" film. The Cha-Cha heels thing is just funny to me in that it's so absurd. I think Waters has gotten more mainstream with each passing movie. My favorites of his are his mid-career films like Polyester, Hairspray, and Cry-Baby. After that it got boring. Especially Cecil B. Demented and Dirty Shame. I guess he's mellowed with age...
Originally Posted By DlandDug Waters claims that the zeitgeist caught up with him. How can he shock a public that is fed a daily stream of 24 hour cable TV? Ann, I have managed to make it this far without seeing Pink Flamingos. Actually, you may want to watch the documentary Divine Trash. It gives a good background for Pink Flamingos, as well as an overview of Waters' early career and work with Divine.
