“go home to your mother! doesn’t she ever watch you? tell her this isn’t some communist daycare centre! tell your mother i hate her! tell your mother i hate you!”
i know i literally logged a john water film 3 days ago (polyester, which you should definitely check out if you haven’t yet) but i loved the aesthetic and humour of that film, along with the rest of his catalogue to the point at that certain time, one of his movies was the only thing i really wanted to watch (plus, it kinda healed me from the bleakness of dancer in the dark). this is the first john waters i’ve seen that doesn’t include divine, besides cry-baby (but that was after he died) so i was cautious coming in, as a lot of the time i feel like he’s the glue that makes john waters work so effectively, and also probably why i thiught cry-baby was a weaker entry for him. i wondered what one of his films to watch next, i would say i watched strategically: but i honestly just picked the one with the blood red cover, and an interesting title. this belongs in ‘the trash trilogy’ (also including the infamous pink flamingos, and also female trouble) and i think out of the two films i watched from the trilogy, they manage to be some of his most unhinged, imaginative work that really resonate with me. the story is completely insane and dream-adjacent, a maid and a mentally disturbed woman escape to a fairytale land with snot covered outlaws running from their crimes, and led by a tyrannical, dictator queen who make them do anything at her will. the entire town of mortville is decorated with garbage and dump, which connects with its tasteless, trashy identity and makes it highly low-budget, but also contain a grungy aesthetic. it definitely is noticeable divine isn’t here, but there’s so many talented actors that i felt fully filled the void. mink stole for example, who does a complete over-the-top performance of constant screaming during a neurotic rant. edith massey has also grown to be one of my favourite actors, and i think this is her best performance yet. her portrayal of this queen of hearts style character except just with less sanity is perfect, and is endlessly entertaining. it’s filled with gross out humour: gratuitous nudity, vomit, sex, mutilation - but atleast there’s no dog fæces! the dialogue is snappy and memorable, blending the misanthropic rants and the campy humour: two of my favourite things. behind the general fun, behind everything this is also a perfect political satire: fascism, class divides, and also an oppressive government (shown with the queen, obviously)
“go home to your mother! doesn’t she ever watch you? tell her this isn’t some communist daycare centre! tell your mother i hate her! tell your mother i hate you!”
i know i literally logged a john water film 3 days ago (polyester, which you should definitely check out if you haven’t yet) but i loved the aesthetic and humour of that film, along with the rest of his catalogue to the point at that certain time, one of his movies was the only thing i really wanted to watch (plus, it kinda healed me from the bleakness of dancer in the dark). this is the first john waters i’ve seen that doesn’t include divine, besides cry-baby (but that was after he died) so i was cautious coming in, as a lot of the time i feel like he’s the glue that makes john waters work so effectively, and also probably why i thiught cry-baby was a weaker entry for him. i wondered what one of his films to watch next, i would say i watched strategically: but i honestly just picked the one with the blood red cover, and an interesting title. this belongs in ‘the trash trilogy’ (also including the infamous pink flamingos, and also female trouble) and i think out of the two films i watched from the trilogy, they manage to be some of his most unhinged, imaginative work that really resonate with me. the story is completely insane and dream-adjacent, a maid and a mentally disturbed woman escape to a fairytale land with snot covered outlaws running from their crimes, and led by a tyrannical, dictator queen who make them do anything at her will. the entire town of mortville is decorated with garbage and dump, which connects with its tasteless, trashy identity and makes it highly low-budget, but also contain a grungy aesthetic. it definitely is noticeable divine isn’t here, but there’s so many talented actors that i felt fully filled the void. mink stole for example, who does a complete over-the-top performance of constant screaming during a neurotic rant. edith massey has also grown to be one of my favourite actors, and i think this is her best performance yet. her portrayal of this queen of hearts style character except just with less sanity is perfect, and is endlessly entertaining. it’s filled with gross out humour: gratuitous nudity, vomit, sex, mutilation - but atleast there’s no dog fæces! the dialogue is snappy and memorable, blending the misanthropic rants and the campy humour: two of my favourite things. behind the general fun, behind everything this is also a perfect political satire: fascism, class divides, and also an oppressive government (shown with the queen, obviously)
