Product Details

• Actors: Liz Renay, Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, Edith Massey, Mary Vivian Pearce
• Directors: John Waters
• Writers: John Waters
• Producers: John Waters, David Spencer, James McKenzie, William Platt
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• VHS Release Date: July 1, 1997
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303614329
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,712 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Everyone in Desperate Living's Mortville has some horrible secret to hide. The mentally unstable Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole, in a superb display of overacting) and her 300-pound-plus maid Grizelda must take it on the lam after Grizelda smothers Peggy's husband under her elephantine buttocks. They find themselves in Mortville, a shanty fiefdom ruled by the grotesque Queen Carlotta (the incomparable Edith Massey). The evil queen delights in tormenting her subjects, but Peggy and Grizelda soon team up with a pair of lesbian outcasts, and a rebellion is in the air. John Waters's Desperate Living takes on the air of a seedy, trash fairy tale as the humiliated residents of Mortville rise up against the queen and the cursed princess finds herself in a power struggle against her mother. Notable for the absence of Waters regular Divine, this movie pushes the rest of the cast to their over-the-top best. Fifties sex bomb Liz Renay has a great time as Muffy St. Jacques, half of the lesbian couple, and was still looking great by the '70s. The tumbledown sets of Mortville add a surreal touch to the movie, but Edith Massey steals every scene she's in as the hateful, repulsive Queen Carlotta. Note that the actors' breath is clearly visible in many scenes; it was filmed outdoors in a bitter Baltimore winter. Nasty, shabby, gross, and hilarious, this is John Waters at his best. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PERFECTLY MONSTROUS, July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desperate Living [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The movie that shows John Waters is the King of "trash"!, November 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desperate Living [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JOHN WATERS BEST WORK, February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desperate Living [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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!