Harried and unhappy housewife Frances Fishpaw (Divine in terrific overwrought form) has her hands full dealing with her sleazy unfaithful husband Elmer (a nicely slimy turn by David Samson),promiscuous pregnant daughter Lu-Lu (a gloriously vampy portrayal by Mary Garlington),and depraved glue-sniffing son Dexter (Ken King, who's a total pervy hoot). However, much-needed relief materializes in the form of the hunky Tod Tomorrow (smoothly played to the suave hilt by Tab Hunter).

Writer/director John Waters pokes merry wicked fun at everything from puritanical small town mores to campy 50's melodramas to uptight conservative religious bluenoses with his trademark lip-smacking twisted glee while also maintaining a snappy pace and a winningly breezy irreverent tone as well as piles on one outrageous plot contrivance after another with infectious go-for-broke abandon.

Moreover, Divine manages the remarkable feat of making poor beleaguered Francine a genuinely tragic and sympathetic character. In addition, Edith Massey almost steals the whole show as Francine's ditsy, yet always upbeat best gal pal Cuddles, Mink Stole has a ball as Elmer's slinky tramp mistress Sandra Sullivan, Joni Ruth White cranks the sublime snark up to eleven as Francine's snooty mother La Rue, Stiv Bators attacks the juicy role of punk thug Bo-Bo Belsinger with sneering aplomb, and Jean Hill has a hysterical bit as an irate woman who hijacks a bus. An absolute kitschy riot.

This must be one of the worst efforts in moviemaking I have ever seen, and also one of the funniest.

The story of Francine Fishpaw (played by transvestite Divine),the good Christian "wife" of a porntheater owner and how she became an alcoholic is told in such a bad and tasteless way that it became funny to watch. It really made me think of movies made by Ed Wood: so incredibly bad that they must become cult-classics. The timing in the movie amounts to nothing. There is no dicernable structure to be seen for miles around. The plottwists are too ludicrous for words. But it was all made with a lot of love and that is something that counts.

The sets on the other hand have been crafted in such a perfect obnoxious American suburban way that they made me shiver. The same thing counts for the costume design, absolutely fantastically horrible, all that Polyester.

At least John Waters in consistent in one aspect of the film: everybody is a lousy actor. There is absolutely nobody in this cast that can even remotely put on a decent performance. Edith Massey in particular is absolutely too horrible to watch. If only Joaquin Phoenix were old enough at the time, he would have played the role of Dexter Fishpaw to perfection, but he would have been too good for this cast.

The is the perfect exhibition of obnoxiousness and a great satire of American moral values.

7/10

This movie deliberately set out to be offensive and awful--though fortunately NOT as offensive and gross as Waters' earlier film, PINK FLAMINGOS. So, in many ways this is one of Waters' first more approachable and mainstream films. Now I still would NOT let youngsters watch the film (mostly because it talks about a lot of strange and sick taboos),but it's probably okay for teens.

Divine stars as a housewife with the most awful family imaginable. Her husband is a pornographer who hates her guts and sleeps with his secretary, her son has a bizarre foot fetish and attacks women and her daughter is a total whore (and proud of it). As a result, the most NORMAL member of the family is the cross-dressing Divine! In addition to the family, a whole cast of maniacs and freaks co-star in the film--ranging from the always gross and untalented Edith Massey (who is so bad she's GREAT) to the once-famous Tab Hunter to Jean Hill in a small part as a woman who hijacks a bus in a small but hilarious scene. As far as the acting goes, all these people deliberately overdo it and are pure camp--giving the film a kooky sort of charm.

In addition to weird characters and bad acting, the film also features a script that is just too bizarre and trashy to be believed. It is sure to offend almost all viewers, but is also terribly funny. I particularly liked the scenes involving the abortion clinic and the nuns--you'd just have to see it to believe it.

All together, all these bizarre and shocking elements make for a very kooky and funny film that can't help but make you laugh--unless you are dead. While the film bears almost no similarity to later polished Waters films (such as HAIRSPRAY),it is wonderful in its own way--and almost as much fun to watch as my personal favorite, FEMALE TROUBLE. See it to believe it.