Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters [Paperback]

Robrt L. Pela (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2002

To call John Waters a cultural icon is almost insulting. This is after all a man who's entire career has been dedicated to the explosion of mainstream culture. But nonethless, from his earliest films he has been the center of controversy, acclaim, revilement, and reverence. He is the director of the notorious Pink Flamingos (in which the 300 pound transvestite Divine snacks on poodle poop) and Female Trouble (in which Divine as a man--with really nasty skidmarks on his shorts--rapes himself as a woman) as well as the crossover smash Hairspray (which introduced Ricki Lake to the world) and Serial Mom (in which Kathleen Turner offed Patty Hearst with a white pump.) From the days when the press wouldn't return his phone calls to the present, promoting his new films on network morning shows, and giving commentary on NPR, CNN, TNT, and The Sundance Channel, Waters has consistently been the outrageous voice of avant garde cinema. Critic Robrt Pela, examines Waters's life and impact on our culture in this book which is both a biography of Waters, and a remarkable, often hilarious, always illuminating look at his films, their impact, and the not to be believed cult of Waters fans.

The Films of John Waters: Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Desperate Living, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker, and Cecil B. Demented.

Marketing Plans:
National Advertising: Village Voice, The Advocate, Out
Media campaign to entertainment and alternative media
Web promotions to Waters related web sites
Advance Reader Copies

Robrt Pela is a contributing writer for Men's Fitness and The Advocate as well as a theater critic whose reviews appear each week in the New Times and are heard on NPR's Morning Edition. He lives in Phoenix.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Late last year, Alyson published My Son Divine by the late drag performer's mother with ace assistance by two filmmakers who shot In Bad Taste and Divine Trash, two documentaries about Waters. This breezy guide to the life and films of the Baltimore filmmaker lacks the research and thoroughness of the earlier effort. Waters's own Shock Value (1981) is still the definitive book on his life and career. Shock covered his early short films and first five full-length features (including Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble). Since the publication of that book, Waters has made six more films (including Hairspray, Polyester and Cecil B. Demented). Instead of offering Waters fans a useful update, Pela recycles information about the earlier films. The author's interest wanes during the later films (the Johnny Depp musical Cry Baby merits a mere three pages and Serial Mom with Kathleen Turner is brushed off in three paragraphs). Equally frustrating are the chapters where Pela makes himself the focus: his disappointing visit to Baltimore; his trip to a spiritual medium to speak with the deceased Divine and his talk with scary, obsessive fans of Waters. A misplaced bluffers guide, which reads more like an appendix, interrupts the chronology midway through to wax on rats, shoplifting, vomit, fat women and other recurring imagery and motifs in John Waters films. The useful filmography (running more than 50 pages) contains fun facts (Best Moment, Low Point, Best Dialogue) and brief reviews.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Robrt Pela is a contributing writer for Men's Fitness and The Advocate as well as a theater critic whose reviews appear each week in the New Times and are heard on NPR's Morning Edition. He lives in Phoenix.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books; 1 edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555836259
• ISBN-13: 978-1555836252
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A light read that offers nothing new to the seasoned John Waters fan, January 21, 2006

By 

Ryan Clark (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters (Paperback)

While "Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters" is servicable as a brief overview of John Waters' career, it really doesn't offer anything one couldn't learn by reading Waters' "Shock Value" and "Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters", Frances Milstead's "My Son Divine", or even by watching Steve Yeager's great documentary Divine Trash, all of which are vastly superior to this book. In fact, most of the quotes in "Filthy" are taken from those other works, implying that the author hasn't actually come into contact with any of the people involved with John Waters' films (or as fans like to call them, Dreamlanders). The book begins with a concise look at Waters' childhood and travels through the making of his films, all but skipping over his latter period works like Serial Mom and Cecil B. Demented. Unfortunately, the chapters aren't laid out very well and the film anecdotes are interrupted by idiotic stories like an unnecessary and disrespectful segment where the author supposedly channels Divine through a psychic, or mean-spirited descriptions of a few Waters fans told through the eyes of a man who clearly isn't as big of a fan as he makes himself out to be.

Another unpropitious aspect of "Filthy" is that the author makes one too many mistakes throughout the text, either with facts or with plot descriptions. These errors may be considered minor to the casual Waters fan, but will absolutely ruin the reading experience for John Waters fanatics by prompting them to take what the author says with a grain of salt. For example, Pela states that Jean Hill has no lines in Polyester. Anyone who has seen the film, and enjoys it as much as I do, knows that this is not true. Her scene is one of the funniest moments in the film, as she spews out insults a mile a minute to a passing car full of teenagers.

In addition, one can easily tell which films Pela doesn't care much for because he nearly eschews them completely. The passage about Serial Mom is less than a page, which is disappointing because it is the best film from Waters' post-Polyester days. It's also sad when what seems like half of the book is comprised of a filmography with cast and crew lists, plot synopses, dialogue, and other assorted facts that are either repeated from earlier chapters or could (and should) have been placed elsewhere in the book.

What is good about "Filthy"? It is well-written and is pretty comprehensive in outlining how these films were made, in a cramped sort of way. The chapters on Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, and Polyester were thorough and the chapter about the author's visit to Baltimore was mildly amusing. There were a few quotes from Waters, Divine, Mink Stole, and others, that I had never read before and a couple of facts here and there that enlightened me to a point. I suppose "Filthy" would be a good guide for people who know little or nothing about John Waters and his films, but it is obvious that Pela has no first-hand experience speaking with the people behind these films. The chapters about the fans and about Pela contacting Divine beyond the grave--not to mention the bloated filmography at the end of the book--are simply filler. The author has taken all of this information from other works of reference and condensed it into one compact resource, which may be fine for some, but leave others like me begging for more substance.

22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Condescending Book About John Waters., August 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters (Paperback)

This book is ultimately just kind of stupid. The author, Robrt Pela writes decently enough, but seems to be extremely judgemental in his descriptions of people he obviously doesn't know (because many are dead)...and furthermore...if some of the Dreamlander's he writes about are his friends, then well, I don't think they will be very happy with his descriptions of them.
I frankly don't think that Mr. Pela actually "gets" John Waters and has written this book simply because he is getting a paycheck. His "Low Points" of the films are just stupid. And he offers no reasons as to why they are low points. I actually love most of the scenes that he refered to as "Low Points"
Mr. Pela refers to several dreamlanders derogatorily, for example he refers to Susan Lowe at one point as, "..a slutty artists model" which is just unneccesary. He's not quoting anyone, he's offering a totally unfounded opinion because he wasn't there and I doubt if he knows Susan Lowe or has ever talked to her.
Mr. Pela writes about these people as if they are abberations and characters in a made up book. His attitude is one of wierd disdain and prudish snobbery. I don't understand how John Water's is his favorite director.
He completely gets it all wrong when he says that Jean Hill has no lines in POLYESTER. I mean did he watch the film? She has several lines. I remember them very well as they are some of the films funniest dialogue.
Robrt Pela seems to me like a typical modern gay man (and I am a queer so I can say this) who embraces the gay politcal agenda and establishment as the only right way to live, and to be gay. His reactions to many things Watersian is very stereotypical and myopic. Robrt Pela seems to feel that because he IS gay that somehow this gives him an insight into what John Waters and the Dreamlander's were, and are, all about.
This book is well written, but offers nothing new about John Waters. It is at best, tolerable subway reading.
Mr. Pela seems to me, to live in a very small and safe world where nothing ICKY ever happens. He is a voyeur. He is watching John Waters and his crew from the safety of his television. He thinks he should like it and appreciate because he is gay. I think this is just not true. I think if he looked at himself beyond his sexuality he would discover that he does not like John Waters at all and would instead write a book about the films of George Cukor.

5.0 out of 5 stars Romping reflections of Waters!, January 13, 2010

By 

KC "KC" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters (Paperback)

A unique biography/filmography for a unique individual. Tackling the complex life of an icon such as John Waters would be anything but simple, yet this author has done just that. Pela reveals all we want to know about Waters early relationships, his film career, and more. It was a great read filled with quirky facts and hilarious recollections from Walters.