Product Details

• Actors: Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Bess Armstrong, Mary Kay Place, Martha Plimpton
• Directors: John Waters
• Writers: John Waters
• Producers: John Fiedler, Mark Tarlov, Mark Ordesky, Jonathan Weisgal, Joe Revitte
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 23, 1999
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0780625528
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,481 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Pecker" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Pecker (so named, at least according to his grandmother, because he always pecks at his food) loves to use the camera to capture his fellow Baltimore residents living their daily lives. Of course, since this is a John Waters movie, those daily lives include visits to strip bars, shoplifting, and various other quirky, and frequently hilarious, human activities. When Pecker's makeshift photo exhibit comes to the attention of a New York art agent (Lili Taylor), Pecker becomes the latest sensation. Unlike the hero in most sudden-fame stories, however, Pecker, as played by Edward Furlong, isn't exactly an innocent; rather, he takes in the world with his eyes, and his mind, wide open. So instead of suffering a precipitous fall, Pecker eventually turns the tables on his more worldly New York peers.

While not as outrageous as early Waters features such as Female Trouble and Pink Flamingos, Pecker still has something to offend just about everyone. But those who take the offenses to heart would be missing out on what amounts to a sweet-natured farce. The movie is not so much a pointed satire as a gentle teasing of the art world and its pretensions. The all-embracing world of John Waters allows for lovable freaks from the big city, too.

The movie sags a bit when it settles into its plot; it can't sustain the comic inspiration reached in the opening scenes of Pecker's encounters with Baltimore's misfits. But running gags about a sugar-addicted child and a ventriloquist-doll Virgin Mary are hilarious. What ultimately makes the movie such a pleasure, though, is Waters's genuine fondness for all of his characters. Aided by a charming cast, including Christina Ricci and Waters regulars Mink Stole and Patty Hearst, Waters has created a surprisingly touching ode to human eccentricity. --Chris Neman

Product Description

PECKER - DVD Movie

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not to be missed commentary by John Waters, October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pecker (DVD)

If you're not a John Waters fan already, you probably won't even be reading this. I won't even comment on the film Pecker, since the critics and other viewers have done a pretty thorough job of that, but I will comment on John Water's running commentary, which is almost as good as the film itself. Even if you have already seen Pecker in a theatre, buy the DVD to hear John's commentary. He is so smart and funny and simply lovable, and he accepts everything and everyone with a wide-open heart. I watch every commentary that is included on DVDs, and without doubt, John Water's is one of the best. After hearing this wonderful commentary, you will love the movie even more!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charm City - Trade Capital of the World!, May 20, 2005

By 

G P Padillo "paolo" (Portland, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pecker (DVD)

From Charm City comes another Waters charmer - another minor masterpiece!

From start to finish Pecker is a delight and Waters infuses his script with enough loveable oddball characters to populate an entire city. Whether it's Christina Ricci's obsessive compulsive wreck of a laundress, the sugar addict Little Chrissy, eternally hopeful Mom, sleaze loving Tina or best of all Memama, who's room contains a shrine to the Virgin Mary - and a statute of the Virgin that shrieks "Full of grace! Full of Grace!" there is always someone to watch and enjoy.

Edward Furlong is all wide-eyed innocence - even when he's secretly photographing bottomless lesbian lap dancers at the and male strippers at a gay bar with the unfortunately hilarious name of "The Fudge Palace." Big sister, Tina offers a rip-roaring good time from Martha Plimpton, and Brendan Sexton III is a delight as Pecker's betrayed best friend. Throw in Mary Kay Place (!), Patty Hearst, Mink Stole, Lili Taylor, Bess Armstrong - and others - and you've got an ensemble that's having one helluva good time on screen!

The jumping off point for Waters here is the snobbism and cultural elitism of Manhattan versus the purity and earnestness of Baltimore "Trade Capital of the World." The New York art scene is an easy target and often lampooned but Waters brings his own unique sick twists and takes us along for a ride full of belly laughs, uncomfortable truths in perhaps his sweetest tribute to Baltimore yet.

There's just enough objectionable material to make the "typical American" uncomfortable - and I wouldn't want it any other way!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars an ode to Baltimore, August 24, 2004

By 

msresp "msresp" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pecker (DVD)

John Waters films are about one thing: his outrageous,over the top characters. I liked the performances of Lili Taylor and Martha Plimpton who brings such personality to her role as the endearing fag hag Tina. And of course you gotta love Memama! only in a Waters film will you see a character listed as "Guy Humping the Washing Machine" and probably want to know who played him. Though not his best film, most fans will probably be amused with this one.