Polyester
1981 Directed by John Waters
Synopsis
A suburban housewife's world falls apart when her pornographer husband admits he's serially unfaithful to her, her daughter gets pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.
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Waters’ presents a clunky mashup of suburban American through the eyes of a constantly abused Divine.
It all seems a little disconnected, and although Odorama is a great gimmick, its connection to the story is also light. A lot of the elements don’t quite seem to mesh together to provide a required payoff.
The Reverence: The concept of people paying to smell someone’s flatulence.
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Το είδα με odorama. Ξύναμε την κάρτα με τους αριθμούς και μυρίζαμε την ανάλογη μυρωδιά κάθε σκηνής. Βλακείες. Τέλεια περάσαμε.
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Seen with scratch 'n sniff card in hand and Mr. John Waters in attendance. Joyful, unrelenting hysteria.
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Lu-Lu Fishpaw: I'm gonna get an abortion and I can't WAIT!
I love John Waters
~fin~
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John Waters began his uneasy romance with the mainstream (where he finally realized he could do more damage than he could with midnight movies) with this dead-bang satire of suburbia and bad melodramas. Divine is great as Francine Fishpaw, a despondent housewife whose life is a nonstop series of catastrophes until she meets the man of her dreams -- Tod Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), a drive-in owner.
Not nearly as gross as Waters' previous outings (when Francine has to puke, she does it discreetly into her purse), but still wild enough to please any Waters fan. Highlights: the sad story of Francine's son, "the Baltimore Foot-Stomper"; the hilarious scene in the abortion clinic -- fifteen years before Citizen Ruth, Waters found…
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You know the films barmy when the most straight forward character in the film is our leading lady who is actually played by a man (Divine). Camp overacting does not do this film justice. A satirical view of a suburban family doing everything wrong we have the porn cinema running dad, drunk and pregnant daughter, the foot stomping fetish druggie son and skitzo dog. All Francine can do is turn to Cuddles for help, her maid who got rich best friend who is played by Edith Massey. Edith's acting can only be described unique. She appears to have a cult following and only appeared in John Water films. It's like she is actually just saying her lines as reads them…
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Ah John Waters... Your old, creepy uncle who spouts obscenities you can't help but chuckle at. The film is basically that, a satire of the "Woman's Films" of the '50s that followed a distinct pattern: Woman is abusive relationship - Everything goes wrong - Man comes and saves her - She lives happily ever after. Waters takes this concept and flips it on its head for an absurd comedic romp.
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I actually got hold of some of the old scratch-n-sniff cards and watched this movie in authentic Odourama (tm), which certainly adds a whiff of something to this already funny John Waters comedy. Waters is a very polarizing director, and if you hate him this movie probably won't change your mind.
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Francine Fishpaw (Divine) is a housewife with a miserable life. Her daughter is an energetic sex-starved abortion enthusiast who hangs out with a juvenile delinquent (Stiv Bators), her son is a glue-sniffing criminal foot-stomper, and her mean, porn-theater-operating husband is cheating on her with his secretary (Mink Stole in cornrow braids). The only person who is nice to her is her friend Cuddles (Edith Massey in maybe her funniest and most adorable performance). But things seem to be changing when she meets the handsome Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), and they fall in love. But Tomorrow may have more malicious intentions. A hilarious, satirical melodrama, with reliably amazing and over-the-top performances from Waters’ cast. Amazing, with a clever gimmick (Odorama), and some timeless abortion humor.
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Last of the batshit crazy John Waters films. This thing is an absolute brainbuster of left field turns and camp hijinks. Essential viewing for Waters fans.