Starring: Divine, Edith Massey, Mink Stole
Directed by: John Waters
Review Written By: The Grief Tourist
“One of the most vile, stupid and repulsive films ever made.” Was the verdict by Daily Variety when Pink Flamingos was released in 1972 and they weren’t joking. However director John Waters was, when he created what has become one of the most infamous films ever made. Yes this is the film where Divine eats dog shit (for real) and women are imprisoned, impregnated and then have their babies sold on to lesbian couples. The film is crude, filthy, and trashy. It is also fucking hilarious!!
Divine, who is living under the alias Babs Johnson, holds the title of the “filthiest person alive.” She lives in a trailer in the woods with her mentally ill mother (Edith Massey in a playpen) who is obsessed with eggs, her son Crackers and her travelling companion Cotton. However two “jealous perverts” Connie and Raymond Marble believe themselves to be far filthier than Divine and set out to prove their filthiness. Throughout the film we see acts that will probably never be seen again in cinema. Singing arseholes, incestuous fellatio and a chicken being fucked between two people are all up for grabs. Then of course there is the final scene which quite simply has to be seen to be believed.
The acting in the film is excessive in the extreme, you could never accuse this cast of downplaying and what a cast they are. Divine is an absolute icon in the title role, he obviously adores the part and his enthusiasm far outweighs any negative things you could say about his performance. Edith Massey is insane as Edie the Egg Lady, you can’t help but wonder throughout the course of the film how Waters finds these people. Baltimore (the director’s hometown) must be a very strange place. David Lochary and Mink Stole are evil villains Connie and Raymond and not only create two strangely enjoyable nasties, they also have hair colours that could stop traffic.
This is one of the first and easily the most notorious of John Waters films. Even though he had not yet perfected the art of making films, his creativity and talent are evident throughout. As a writer he has created some fabulously memorable filthy lines such as “I guess there's just two kinds of people, Miss Sandstone: my kind of people, and assholes.” And Divine’s brilliant monologue near the end of the film “Kill everyone now! Condone first degree murder! Advocate cannibalism! Eat shit! Filth are my politics! Filth is my life!”
The film is 35 years old yet retains all of its ability to shock, provoke and most importantly make you laugh. It made stars out of its director and lead and is without a doubt one of the best worst things you are ever likely to see in your life. High art this isn’t, but a work of excellent bad taste it most certainly is. If you don’t like it you should be convicted of assholism, if you want to know what the penalty is, see the film.
MOVIE MAESTRO RATING:
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