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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 24, 2019 0:04:31 GMT
Have found John Water's films are always good fun with plenty of replay value for the most part. He put the dirt into dirty and was a big influence in the up-yours underground film movement, to the uptight and rigid censors in the 70's.
His earlier films may be considered cheap junk, unduly crude and even disgusting, but he has a wonderful knack of showcasing outrageous, outlandish and offbeat characters with a quirky and fun sense of humor. I thank the world of cinema for John Waters and for his wacky style of comedy.
It is difficult to single out 3, because I like them all for different reasons. My choices are not his 70's works but:
POLYESTER
SERIAL MOM PECKER
If I was to single out one from the 70's, I like Desperate Living the best, even though Divine didn't star in it. I find it more consistently funny than Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble and I like the outlandish look and setting of the film.
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Apr 24, 2019 1:40:36 GMT
Hairspray
Serial Mom
Cecil B. Demented
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 24, 2019 5:29:19 GMT
Hairspray Serial Mom Cecil B. Demented Hairspray is a real charmer. His first pg rated film and it is a cracker. He doesn't lose his own unique touch, makes it a little offbeat, but not enough to alienate mainstream audiences from enjoying and even introducing them to his style. It didn't make much at the US box-office, but did triple its low budget. The marketing was poor. It played art-house only where I was living which is a shame.
Cecil B. Demented is one that I enjoy, but not so much as the others. After Pecker, I was a bit disappointed.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Apr 24, 2019 7:50:55 GMT
FEMALE TROUBLE and PINK FLAMINGOES
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Post by darksidebeadle on Apr 24, 2019 11:45:28 GMT
Serial mom
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Post by OrsonSwelles on Apr 24, 2019 13:30:25 GMT
His 70s films are the best and Desperate Living is the best of those.
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Post by TheSowIsMine on Apr 24, 2019 19:12:14 GMT
Hairspray
Serial Mom
Pecker
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Post by biker1 on Apr 24, 2019 20:19:38 GMT
Seen 7 of the 10..
pink flamingos from the early movies, although I prefer the more accessible, user friendly, hairspray & cry-baby.
Didn't like later ones, serial mum, pecker.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 24, 2019 21:51:33 GMT
His 70s films are the best and Desperate Living is the best of those. His 70's films really set the mood for his tone of humor and as for the brand, he understandably started to sanitize this as he was making more films. The gross shock value and extreme anti-social behavior of his characters became more marginalized.
I agree about Desperate Living being his best of the 70's. I feel by the time he made this film, he had a better grasp of his film-making technique as well. Still cheap and crude, but perhaps not as shoddy and it was very funny, in spite of itself.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 24, 2019 21:55:55 GMT
Seen 7 of the 10.. pink flamingos from the early movies, although I prefer the more accessible, user friendly, hairspray & cry-baby. Didn't like later ones, serial mum, pecker. I came to Serial Mom several years after its release. I was told by a colleague that it was very funny, but it didn't hold much appeal to me at the time. When I did finally see it in the late 90's, I adored it. Pecker also held a lot of value for me as well and was a pleasant surprise.
I enjoy Cry-Baby, but not as much as Hairspray. I love the opening of CB.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 25, 2019 9:27:02 GMT
FEMALE TROUBLE and PINK FLAMINGOES Friday, have you seen any others of Waters?
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 25, 2019 9:29:26 GMT
Hairspray Serial Mom Pecker Nice choices and I would have chosen Hairspray as my 4th choice. I felt it only fair to include a Divine starring film and to my taste, Polyester is the best of the Divine vehicles.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 25, 2019 9:33:43 GMT
Seen 7 of the 10.. pink flamingos from the early movies, although I prefer the more accessible, user friendly, hairspray & cry-baby. Didn't like later ones, serial mum, pecker. May I please ask what you don't like about Serial Mom and Pecker?
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Apr 25, 2019 11:20:54 GMT
FEMALE TROUBLE and PINK FLAMINGOES Friday, have you seen any others of Waters? Serial Mom - Alright. Desperate Living - OK. Mondo Trasho - I can barley recall. Cry Baby - I did not like at all.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Apr 25, 2019 22:00:39 GMT
Friday, have you seen any others of Waters? Serial Mom - Alright. Desperate Living - OK. Mondo Trasho - I can barley recall. Cry Baby - I did not like at all. I haven' seen Mondo Trasho, so didn't include it.
Cry Baby wasn't that popular, but has garnered a little cult reputation. It is quite a cute little offering from Waters, but I don't think it is as good as Hairspray and it also feels a bit strained for effect and a bit contrived. I also don't like the lead girl in it. He may have been more successful with CB, had he made it R rated and raunchier.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on May 1, 2019 10:41:58 GMT
Hairspray Serial Mom Cecil B. Demented Re-watched Cecil B. Demented. It was a slightly different Waters, being a bit more action orientated, even if it was comic silly and the satire of it isn't half bad. There are some amusing and funny Waterish scenes, like the raid on the porno theater, but overall, I think it lacks some of the charm of his earlier films. It did have plenty of spirit.
A Dirty Shame was ok, but it also comes across as a little strained for effect. Very sexual focused and the tone of it appeared to be striving for what he did in his earlier smutty films, which seemed a bit odd or even quaint for the millennial era. Any shock value, really wasn't that shocking and I have the NC17 version. I thought Tracey Ullman was the best thing about it, but she really needed to be surrounded by more oddball and outrageous unusual actors, not ordinary actors just acting zany.
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on May 1, 2019 16:13:10 GMT
Hairspray Serial Mom Cecil B. Demented Re-watched Cecil B. Demented. It was a slightly different Waters, being a bit more action orientated, even if it was comic silly and the satire of it isn't half bad. There are some amusing and funny Waterish scenes, like the raid on the porno theater, but overall, I think it lacks some of the charm of his earlier films. It did have plenty of spirit.
A Dirty Shame was ok, but it also comes across as a little strained for effect. Very sexual focused and the tone of it appeared to be striving for what he did in his earlier smutty films, which seemed a bit odd or even quaint for the millennial era. Any shock value, really wasn't that shocking and I have the NC17 version. I thought Tracey Ullman was the best thing about it, but she really needed to be surrounded by more oddball and outrageous unusual actors, not ordinary actors just acting zany.
One thing I really appreciated about Cecil B. Demented was the fact it was so anti-Hollywood; the age of auteur filmmaking was long gone, and independent studios were being squashed by the bigger studios. The film industry has become so 'corporate' that it is actually the producers and board-of-directors who make the movies, and the directors are just hired hands. That is why we are bombarded by over-produced, empty-headed big budget movies. Therefore, I thought the satire of Cecil B. Demented was bang-on. I haven't seen A Dirty Shame yet, but I'm sure I will someday.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on May 1, 2019 21:22:12 GMT
Re-watched Cecil B. Demented. It was a slightly different Waters, being a bit more action orientated, even if it was comic silly and the satire of it isn't half bad. There are some amusing and funny Waterish scenes, like the raid on the porno theater, but overall, I think it lacks some of the charm of his earlier films. It did have plenty of spirit.
A Dirty Shame was ok, but it also comes across as a little strained for effect. Very sexual focused and the tone of it appeared to be striving for what he did in his earlier smutty films, which seemed a bit odd or even quaint for the millennial era. Any shock value, really wasn't that shocking and I have the NC17 version. I thought Tracey Ullman was the best thing about it, but she really needed to be surrounded by more oddball and outrageous unusual actors, not ordinary actors just acting zany.
One thing I really appreciated about Cecil B. Demented was the fact it was so anti-Hollywood; the age of auteur filmmaking was long gone, and independent studios were being squashed by the bigger studios. The film industry has become so 'corporate' that it is actually the producers and board-of-directors who make the movies, and the directors are just hired hands. That is why we are bombarded by over-produced, empty-headed big budget movies. Therefore, I thought the satire of Cecil B. Demented was bang-on. I haven't seen A Dirty Shame yet, but I'm sure I will someday. Corporate thinking is always about the mighty dollar and where and how to make the most. Come awards time, it tends to be more swayed now to the more independent style of film, so they are not really forgotten. Films in the 70's that were produced by the big name studios, started to become more independent into the 80's.
Waters films are never considered high art, he was just giving the bird to puritanical at the start and then just wanted to make some fun films after that, with his own brand of wackiness and humor. Hollywood gave him an opportunity by producing Cry Baby, which was Universal and it bombed. I guess you win some, you lose some. If it was popular, he would have been given more chances I would say.
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Post by maxwellperfect on May 2, 2019 2:40:08 GMT
Hairspray
Crybaby
Cecil B. Demented
From his "gross out" period, I guess 'Desperate Living' amused me the most.
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Post by dirtypillows on May 29, 2019 6:27:41 GMT
Have found John Water's films are always good fun with plenty of replay value for the most part. He put the dirt into dirty and was a big influence in the up-yours underground film movement, to the uptight and rigid censors in the 70's.
His earlier films may be considered cheap junk, unduly crude and even disgusting, but he has a wonderful knack of showcasing outrageous, outlandish and offbeat characters with a quirky and fun sense of humor. I thank the world of cinema for John Waters and for his wacky style of comedy.
It is difficult to single out 3, because I like them all for different reasons. My choices are not his 70's works but:
POLYESTER
SERIAL MOM PECKER
If I was to single out one from the 70's, I like Desperate Living the best, even though Divine didn't star in it. I find it more consistently funny than Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble and I like the outlandish look and setting of the film.
Hi Toasted Cheese. So I don't know where I was the evening of April 23rd... So, your favorite is my favorite. I think "Polyester" was where bad taste met commercial sensibilities. It is without a doubt his one lovable film. Cuddles is amazing. "Ooooh, Tab for our diets! And, ooooh, sandwiches!" I read one critic who said that Edith Massey's performance should have either earned her an Oscar or round the clock medical attention. Despite being a somewhat bitchy observation, that was pretty funny. It is not difficult to see Edith Massey as an incredibly kind-hearted person. Goddess Cookie Mueller said in one of her autobiographies that it was impossible to get mad at Edie! I like "Serial Mom", too. "Pecker" had a good cast and it was pretty cute. I like everything you said. His earlier films were spirited, some might even say a little too spirited, though I don't think that is possible. John Waters is a genius. And Divine even moreso... In real life, Divine was a kind, gentle hearted man. I think he had to get fully into character to do his over the top thing. I read that John Waters was much more interested in offending the liberal left than the conservative right. I say good for him. The left can be so obnoxious (in a way much different than the other side)
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