Female Trouble (1974) ****
Somehow, amazingly, I had never seen Female Trouble (1974) until now, which is almost as much of a cinematic atrocity as many would consider the bulk of John Waters's output. I could have sworn I had seen it before, but nope, it managed to escape me all these years, which is (forgive the pun) troubling as I've been a fan of Waters for over 20 years (ever since New Line re-released Pink Flamingos (1972) for its 25th anniversary, which I still have my VHS tape of, along with Desperate Living (1977) and Polyester (1981)).
Now that that's out of the way—I loved this film! It has immediately become my second favorite Waters movie. With Trouble, Waters wisely chose not to top himself with the gross-out factor of Flamingos. It's a slightly better made film, featuring his usual cast of Dreamlanders. Trouble also features Divine's second most famous character in Dawn Davenport, a delinquent schoolgirl who runs away from home, gets pregnant, and falls into the favor of Donald and Donna Dasher, the owners of the Lipstick Beauty Salon. The Dashers recruit Davenport in a scheme to prove "crime and beauty are the same" by seducing Dawn to commit crimes, providing her with drugs, money, and photographing her crimes to feed her vanity. Naturally, it doesn't end well for Dawn, but she achieves the fame that she always desired.
For fans of Waters' subversive humor, guerrilla filmmaking and unique brand.
Now that that's out of the way—I loved this film! It has immediately become my second favorite Waters movie. With Trouble, Waters wisely chose not to top himself with the gross-out factor of Flamingos. It's a slightly better made film, featuring his usual cast of Dreamlanders. Trouble also features Divine's second most famous character in Dawn Davenport, a delinquent schoolgirl who runs away from home, gets pregnant, and falls into the favor of Donald and Donna Dasher, the owners of the Lipstick Beauty Salon. The Dashers recruit Davenport in a scheme to prove "crime and beauty are the same" by seducing Dawn to commit crimes, providing her with drugs, money, and photographing her crimes to feed her vanity. Naturally, it doesn't end well for Dawn, but she achieves the fame that she always desired.
For fans of Waters' subversive humor, guerrilla filmmaking and unique brand.
Comments
Post a Comment