Product Details

• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: ALL
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009E27EY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,779 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Dirty Shame (Ws)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When prissy, prickly Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) suffers a head injury during a traffic altercation, she's, er, revived by self-appointed sexual missionary Ray-Ray Perkins (Johnny Knoxville) and is transformed into an insatiable, take-no-prisoners sex maniac. Yes, it's a John Waters film. Yes, it's filthy. No, it's not as hilarious and sustained as you'd like it to be. It works for a while, though: Ullman, never a stingy comedienne, does everything Waters dares her to do without hesitation; words cannot describe the perversely sporting delight with which she mounts a water bottle during a round of "The Hokey Pokey" at an old folks' home. And there's some fun to be had when Sylvia's emancipation leads her Baltimore 'burb to new heights of ecstasy, freeing her large-breasted daughter Caprice (Selma Blair) while horrifying husband Vaughn (Chris Isaak) and her hardline mother Big Ethel (Suzanne Shepherd, hysterical) in the process. It's also packed with the standard cameos, the most satisfying of which is good old Patty Hearst at a Sex Addicts Anonymous encounter. But, for all the nasty, necessary glee, the movie feels inescapably been-there-done-that, and you can't help but wish this was 1972 and Divine was on hand to prowl for dog droppings. The most shocking thing about A Dirty Shame is how desperate and tiresome its anarchy becomes.--Steve Wiecking

From The New Yorker

In John Waters's latest Baltimore raunchfest, the always welcome Johnny Knoxville stars as Ray-Ray, a tow-truck driver who saves concussion victims by liberating their libidos. Tracey Ullman is the repressed housewife who becomes his disciple. As the awakened townsfolk speak of carnal Rapture and search for the last untried sex act, Waters delivers a full-out burlesque. The film is winningly nostalgic in the way it harkens back to a time when sexual provocations could be truly transgressive, but the broad lampooning of the Christian community seems dated. Still, Waters's anarchic energy never flags, and he hasn't become cynical. With Selma Blair and Chris Isaak. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of control funny, June 19, 2005

By 

J. W. Erickson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dirty Shame (NC-17 Rated Theatrical Version) (DVD)

Don't bother with the R-rated dvd you'll find at most movie store chains. It's awful, with most of the best scenes cut out for whatever reason. Try to find the theatrical release, or just buy it online, well worth the effort if you have a strange sense of humor.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to true form!, April 28, 2005

By 

Richard Mahone (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dirty Shame (NC-17 Rated Theatrical Version) (DVD)

Being an extra on this hysterical film was a true barrel of monkeys. Receiving direction from one of the most notorious cult directors of all-time was quite an experience. A Dirty Shame is yet another twisted Waters' installment from his brilliant and unbelievably retarded mind. Sex addicts run rampant in Hamilton,
a NE Baltimore neighborhood and Johnny Knoxville is the ringleader. This film addresses such sexual fetishes never before spoke of in any previous film. Of course John's most recent films lack the angst of his 70's films, but the fact is
that was nearly 30 years ago and him and his entourage are way past the age of youth rebellion. This is clearly the most outrageous film Mr. Waters' has made since Desperate Living in 1977. Anyone who has been wise to his 70's films will absolutely
enjoy this picture. Folks who are ignorant to Waters' pictures
or those who have never seen one should not see this film without first viewing at least Pink Flamingos(1972) or Female Trouble(1974). A Waters' film you view because OF HIS name. NOT the stars. He is the puppeteer, and they are his marionettes. His recent tango with mainstream cinema and theatre is all well and good but this film proves once again what John Waters' is and will always be.
A Renegade...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Fun with John Waters, January 19, 2007

By 

Thomas H. Fields "cinemagic" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dirty Shame (NC-17 Rated Theatrical Version) (DVD)

Like many John Waters fans, I enjoy his 1970s movies the most. But this one is a lot of fun, and not to be missed. Some say that the last part is overdone, but that's one of his trademarks. Others say that his brand of humor is 30 years out-of-date, but if you like it anyway then see this one.