| |
 |
|
|
Movies Forum Index » General Movies Forum » John Waters' "This Filthy World"
Page 1 of 1
|
| Author |
Message |
| H.P. Huey |
 Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:56 pm |
|
|
|
Guest
|
Director John Waters, famous for both numerous shock films like "Pink
Flamingos" and amusing tangents such as a prominent appearance as a
character on an episode of "The Simpsons," stars in this unique
stand-up/lecture combination that is one part comedy blitz and one part
social observation from an enjoyably bizarre angle. You do not need to
be deeply familiar with all of his work to enjoy the presentation, but
if you are, it adds to the sideways veritas.
He opens for his collegiate audience by saying "Every young person
needs a bad person to look up to and I hope that tonight, I can be that
person for you." He then proceeds to show you why you should indeed look
up to him, but possibly through the fingers of your hand held over your
face. Anyone can be audacious, but Waters does it with a class that is
all his own.
Although he wends his way through the backstories of his infamous
early films, regaling the crowd with tales such as that of
cross-dressing actor/actress Divine being a "trooper, willing to do
anything," the best aspects involve his observations about life as a gay
man, the weirdo-watching joys of seedy clubs and the horror experienced
by people who liked his light-hearted teen dance offering "Hairspray"
when they followed up with the far more twisted "Female Trouble."
"My movies celebrate people who think they are normal when they're
anything BUT normal." He is clearly fueled by the fact that his rather
staid parents were supportive and are proud of his success, yet upon
seeing a later film, his father said "I enjoyed it, but I hope I never
have to see it again." That neatly describes Waters' almost "evil" yet
clearly non-hostile, even giddy pleasure at knocking someone off of the
proverbial pins of their preconceptions.
Many a stand-up comedian would no doubt kill to have his breezy style,
yet it derives from his being entirely genuine. You're seeing a healthy
portion of his creative drive at its best. When he describes asking the
Canadian Film Board what happened to a print of the aforementioned
"Female Trouble" that was sent for review and getting a simple statement
that says "BURNED" in return, his amusement is obvious. "They actually
burned the print! In an odd way, I'm flattered!" Its the stuff of
cockeyed legends.
You not only get insight relative to how he learned his craft through
trial and error, having never engaged in any formal training, but how
the threads were pulled together. He praises low-budget scaremeister
William Castle's promotional shamelessness in using electric buzzers
under seats at showings of "The Tingler" and connects it to his use of a
scratch-&-sniff card handed out to patrons before "Polyester." "We had
to change the name on a few of the later cards because some distributors
couldn't handle the idea of people smelling a fart, so we had to rename
that smell when we printed them up." Its farce given a face so far
outside anything resembling the "norm" that it takes on a life as lively
as those seen in his films. Better yet, fans will appreciate the fact
that he starts with his early work and follows the timeline up to the
present, so you get a cameo panorama of the Waters experience. It would
be funny enough if it was a total fabrication, but its the real McCoy.
At several points you may easily feel much like he does when "I do a
popper, spin around in my leather office chair and go WHEEEEE!" That
would make one hell of a screen saver.
The main lecture is approximately 90 minutes long, but the disc
includes an entertaining 30 minute Q & A session with the audience
afterwards, as well as a secondary "featurette" where he discusses his
career from a different angle. It is an attractive package whose format
many would no doubt enjoy seeing reproduced with other creative figures,
but none of them is John Waters. He is a perverse American icon, but his
greatest victory is that he makes his personal slant on so-called
perversion inviting, convincing and ultimately laudable. If you have
seen even one of his earlier offerings and wondered what made him tick,
here's an excellent way to get the full monty. Its great fun taken
flat-footed and even better if you can watch it from the perspective of
someone who howled at his films in theatres. "This Filthy World" is a
definite must-have on any shelf that includes cultural documentaries,
especially those aimed at our societal quirks and the coping mechanisms
we hopefully develop to confront them with humor, style and sometimes,
pure courage. John hits the deck and delivers in spades. Spoiler alert:
he claims Divine actually ate the dog crap. OH ME OH MY!
For more on Waters' career, see http://imdb.com/name/nm0000691/
--
HellPope Huey
Welcome to Tourette's practice.
Today we begin with the letter "F."
"Its Nyquil and scotch. I call it a Drunken Hulk."
~ "Two and A Half Men"
"I lit a cigarette that tasted like a plumber's handkerchief."
~ Raymond Chandler |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Modemac |
| Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:22 am |
|
|
|
Guest
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| H.P. Huey |
| Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:29 am |
|
|
|
Guest
|
Modemac wrote:
I always *send* you my stuff because you do not have an ego the size
of Jupiter and do not actively suck 24/7. I have perspective on this
because my ego is only the size of Neptune and I take a break between 11
and 12 and then again between 6 and 8, during which I do not suck. You
cannot watch Keith Olbermann while sucking or the heady goodness & fresh
air are not absorbed.
--
HellPope Huey
Welcome to Tourette's practice.
Today we begin with the letter "F."
"Its Nyquil and scotch. I call it a Drunken Hulk."
~ "Two and A Half Men"
"I lit a cigarette that tasted like a plumber's handkerchief."
~ Raymond Chandler |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
|
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:50 am
|
|