Customer Reviews

Desperate Living

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When this was released, we all wondered if Waters could run without Divine, who had stage commitments at the time. Well, he sure showed us! From start to finish, the film is riveting. Mink Stole, in my opinion, turns in some of her finest work here - especially "the rant" before she's given her "fit medicine." It also introduced Jean Hill, doyenne of the sleazy greeting card, in a dramatic tour de force. The energy between the two women is undeniable. It's impossible not to love Edith Massey's purely evil Queen Carlotta and her troop of hot leather goons. Actually, there's nary a bad performance here. Bonnie (Mary Vivian) Pearce gave what seems to be her swan song as a major character here as well, making only cameos in subsequent Waters pictures, and one can only wonder why she's no longer cast in larger roles. As Princess Coo-Coo, she combines the pathos of the misplaced personage with the foot-stamping petulance of the spoiled child. Absolutely perfect. And Susan Lowe as the bipolar Mole will alternately have you laughing, crying in sympathy, cringing with fear, and retching with disgust! The gaily-painted, plywood fairytale sets, set against the bleak winter Maryland landscape (nearly all the shooting apparently was done on overcast days), adds an discomfiting edge, as does the bizarre "musical" soundtrack. All the elements mesh together perfectly to create a film that will haunt you long after you view it. A must!

This is John's trashiest and best work. I thought it would be hard to top Pink Flamingoes, but this one does it. I love Grizelda and who can't love Edith Massey as Queen Carlotta. This movie is a must have for Waters' fans.

If you love Mr. Waters films this is a MUST for your collection.Edith Massey is great in this movie. She plays Queen Carlotta and she is pure evil. Who would inject their own daugther with rabies? You can say all you want about actresses like, Streep,Moore,Fields,Roberts,etc. GIVE ME EDITH MASSEY over those girls anyday! EDITH MASSEY in Pretty Woman would have been great to see... REST HER SOUL!

If Female Trouble (1975) is John Waters` greatest narrative film, then Desperate Living (1977) is his inimitable descent into a surreal, kitsch abyss that few could imagine. Desperate Living is Waters' personal, alternative universe to the parallel world of Busby Berkeley. Seen today, Berkeley's films are a surreal wet dream, a perverse man's big budget fairy tales. Waters filmed his perverse anti-fairy tale on a meager budget three years after Female Troubles, although he had substantially more money here than on his previous films. Budget or no, Desperate Living is just as grandiose and epic as anything Berkeley ever produced.

Star Divine was not available due to other commitments so Waters tapped Mink Stole, who more than makes up for the loss (additionally, Waters regular David Lochary died of an overdose shortly before filming). The film opens with a bang in the form of a brilliant, in-your-face, unhinged preamble from Stole as Peggy, the most delightful sociopath to ever grace the annuls of independent cinema. Peggy discovers her filthy sodomite whelps playing doctor's office and goes berserk. To make matter worse, Peggy's bore of a husband, Bosley (George Stover) catches Grizelda, their 400 pound maid (Jean Hill), nipping at the jack so he decides to fire her. Enough is enough, so Grizelda conks Bosley over the head and then suffocates him by sitting on his face.

Grizelda tells Peggy, "I am now your sister in crime, bitch!" Peggy, avoiding the same fate as Bosley, goes along with her former maid. The coupling of Peggy and Grizelda is comically deranged, literally climaxing with Grizelda forcing Peggy to give her oral sex as she screams out, `Eat it! Eat it!"

The two are on the run, and Peggy is disturbed by the surrounding beauty of nature: " You know I hate nature! Look at those disgusting trees, stealing my oxygen. Oh, I can't stand this scenery another minute. All natural forests should be turned into housing developments! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" The two are soon stopped by a copper (scene stealer Turkey Joe) who tells them about a Pleasure Island called Mortville, where every pervert, nudist, and psychopath can feel at home. He promises to let them go there if they will only give him their panties and a sloppy kiss. Joe literally salivates on Grizelda's stained panties and writhes in ecstasy as he wishes Grizelda would suck out his eyeballs. Chore done, Peggy and Grizelda are on their way.

Mortville is , essentially, a cardboard town with psychedelic sets (brilliantly designed by Vincent Peranio) that, for sheer lunacy, could rival and surpass Ed Wood`s sets for Bride of the Monster (1955).

Queen Calotta (Edith Massey) is the matriarchal Nazi dictator of Mortville. Carlotta's hands are full with her rebellious daughter, Princess Coo-Coo (Mary Vivian Pearce), who wants to get married to a nudist camp garbage man and live the suburban dream. Carlotta's answer to this dilemma is to kill her would be son-in-law and teach the town a lesson by spreading rabies through Mortville with a batch of rat urine. Peggy and Carlotta's leather-clad studs are on hand to carry out every whim of the evil Queen. " Whip it out" she orders one of her studs. "I like meat and potatoes, I'm going to have to spank you for arousing royalty!" she screams, before he plows her furrow in her queen-size bed (you have to see it to believe it and I'm not joking). By comparison, Ming the Merciless is a wimp. Ming would certainly never have the lack of class to utter lines like, "Seize her and f__k her."

Peggy and Grizelda rent an outhouse from two lesbians, Mole and Muffy (Waters regular Susan Lowe and Liz Renay--yes, that Liz Renay, the burlesque queen and gangster). Lowe and Renay do wonderful turns in their roles. Lowe's Muffy performs a quickie sex change via rusty scissors and whines, " now I have a Barbie doll crotch." Still, despite Muffy's dead babies and dog food, the film belongs to Massey and Stole and they both seem to be having the time of their lives.

The midnight cult film scene was about to permanently change. Waters had one more film to go, the similar, but polished Polyester (1981); then, in 1984, Massey would join Lochary, followed by Divine in 1988. Desperate Living is really the last film in which everything came uniquely together for Waters in what was undoubtedly his era, when he was a powerful and influential visionary who literally took film goers to the edge of their seat (and often sent them running out the door).

* MY REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT 366 WEIRD MOVIES

This amazing John Waters movie dserves it's place amongst the strangest and sickest films ever made. Miss Jean Hill naked atop Mink Stole is a scene your mind will hold loooooong after the initial shock and viewing! Edith Massey is sadistically sarcastic as Queen Carlotta and winds up dinner! Repeated viewings only make it better and better! A true MUST for the JW freak in you!

The first time I saw "Pink Flamingos," something seemed oddly familiar. I later realized it was the "acting." The actors delivered their lines with the conviction and subtlety of a Jr. High School play. This element coupled with the cruelly insightful, almost profound nature of what is being said is a trademark of John Waters. It softens the blow somewhat.

"Desperate Living" still delivers an abundance of Waters' trademark irony in action, but, there's a catch. Two catch's, really. Firstly, there is somewhat convincing acting from several key roles. It might sound like a letdown, but it actually enhances the story. The second aberration is the absence of Waters' workhorse Divine. Proving that he could succeed on his own wit alone, Waters made his funniest film ever.

Fans of "Flamingos" might be disappointed by the lack of "real" shock material. (Most of it comes via "special effects") Those who enjoy the softer approach of Polyester and later may find it a bit much. But for those who tune in for the strength of concepts and quotable one-liners, this is by far the deepest Waters experience out there.

Hard to believe, but the lesbian community at the time attacked the film for it's 'male-sponsored' perspective. It has since been embraced with open arms as a classically hilarious piece that highlights Waters iconic status in the gay and underground community.

This is John Waters at his most sick, depraved and politically incorrect. It is also side-splittingly horrifying and hilarious. His stable of psycho stars, especially Mink Stole and Liz Renay, are impossible not to watch with dropped jaws of stunned amazement. DESPERATE LIVING is a fractured fairy tale that fans of the Waters genre will enjoy again and again.

The commentary track with Waters and Renay is also fun and funny. They are two folks with a refreshing candor and obvious zest for living that should inspire us all!

a "fractured fairytale" if there ever was one!! this movie you MUST watch over and over!! The shock value is high - and the laughs are "Multiple"! A lot of scenes make you cringe - but - if you are A WATERS fan - and havent seen this - YOU ARE NOT A WATERS FAN!!! for the rest of you - watch it anyway - it is TRUE trash and if you get offended - you take yourself too seriuosly. Edith Massey was FAB as the queen! No Devine here - but still incredible. Mink Stole was wonderful as the high society lady - who , though a turn of events - gets to see how the po' half lives. great cast and all around funny! I have recommended this to more people than I can remember.

Like many of Waters' films, this one really needs to grow on you. I found it much funnier, but less shocking, than Pink Flammingos (which I also hated the first time through).

Hilariously bad acting is part of the fun (like the kid who hits the baseball through Peggy's window). The poor production values don't hurt either. And the image of Mink Stole and Jean Hill naked in bed together is forever etched in my mind!

Lots of sick sight gags and dialogue galore. A must-see for Waters fans (unless you think you're a Waters fan because you liked Hairspray).

No Divine in this one, but it still packs a trashy punch! To quote Dan Akroid: "Simply awful, couldn't be worse. Bravo!".

What more can be said. Truely the ultimate in movie making. This film has several scenes gauranteed to clear the room of only the strongest of wills. Easily some of the greatest script and acting performances of all time. You have to see this one to believe it; if you can take it! GRAZELDA FOREVER!!!!!