Customer Reviews

Polyester [VHS]

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"This is Odorama!" declares Dr. Quackenshaw (Rick Breitenfeld) sounding like Dr. Strangelove at the start of John Waters' hilarious film POLYESTER. Ignore this proclamation since it only applies to the retro gimmick Waters used to lure people to the film during its original theatrical run. Scratch-and-sniff cards with various scents identified with the numbers 1-10 were given out to members of the audience so that they could interact with the film. Now, unless you own one of those souvinir cards, the numbers that flash on the bottom right corner of the screen during the film won't do much for you, but POLYESTER is still another wildly original film from a man who embraces the white trash culture of America.

There are few better openers than the one Waters created for POLYESTER. Following the prologue, which explains the magic of Odorama, the camera takes us on a tour of Francine Fishpaw (Divine)'s house accompanied by a hilarious theme song sung by Tab Hunter (written by Blondie's Chris Stein and Deborah Harry). Up the camera goes into Francine's room, showing her in her oversized undergarments as she trims her nostril hair, shaves her armpits, and puts on her dress. She goes on a scale which reads 310 lbs and she angrily kicks the scale away. Francine's husband Elmer (David Samson) owns a porn theatre and outside of the couple's house, picketers voice their disgust with a hilarious chant: "2,4,6,8, X-rated movies we all hate. 1,2,5,9, G-rated movies are mighty fine." Francine, a devout Christian, is humiliated. Elmer is ecstatic: "All that free publicity! I can't wait to see the 11 o'clock news!" Their children are a son named Dexter (Ken King) who has a strange fascination for feet and a scrapbook to prove it and a daughter named Lu-Lu (Mary Garlington) whose raging hormones cause her to announce: "I learned all about my cervix in sex education class yesterday!" Francine's mother makes her life even worse. When Francine is on the toilet, her mother walks in and says: "Can't you do that later. I don't have all day, you know. I'm missing valuable shopping time." Francine's only refuge from this living nightmare is her former cleaning lady Cuddles (Edith Massey) who's now rich thanks to an inheritance from another family she worked for. Cuddles pictures herself as the cream of the crop and loves to speak pig latin and French despite her speech impediment due to her missing front teeth.

Thanks to her husband who cheats on her and rubs it in her face, her dysfunctional children, and her mother from hell, Francine's life plummets into alcoholism until she meets the man of her dreams - Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter). She first sees Todd standing in front of his white corvette, scratching his crotch as she looks out of the window of Cuddles' limousine. Later, Todd and Francine "meet cute" at the scene of a gory car accident. What follows is Waters' parodying the cheesy romantic montages of other films. The lovers' ride in the country and frolick amongst mother nature is set to a song by Deborah Harry and Michael Kamen sung by Bill Murray (seriously!) sounding hilariously similar to Tab Hunter: "One boy/One girl/Deeply and honestly/Our real life fantasy." Francine's children are now born again artists and she declares: "Oh, thank you God. Thank you for answering my prayers. We're a real family again. A normal American family." Soon, POLYESTER takes a huge twist that leads to a shocking conclusion that I wouldn't dare reveal.

John Waters has become a living legend thanks to his entertaining and creative films that have dared to break the rules and sometimes crossed into the mainstream. From his "indepedent" films (PINK FLAMINGOS, DESPERATE LIVING, and POLYESTER) to his recent "Hollywood" films (SERIAL MOM, PECKER, and the upcoming CECIL B. DEMENTED), Waters has joyfully embraced and satirized white trash America and his beloved hometown of Baltimore. In POLYESTER, he dares to tackle the abortion issue as a protester asks: "Suppose Einstein's mother had an abortion?" and Waters provides this memorable exchange between a mother and her son:

FRANCINE: I'm afraid your mom's an alcoholic.

DEXTER: Oh, mom. You can stop. I got off the the angel dust.

And Waters also pokes fun at his own vocation of choice with the following advertisement announced at a drive-in theatre in POLYESTER:

"Visit our concession stand. We feature boluga caviar, suculent oysters, and champagne. Take a tempting taste treat and ponder the intellectual meaning of cinema."

So "take a tempting taste treat" and enjoy POLYESTER, possible John Waters' greatest achievement.

Two more of John Waters cinematic attrocities have finally been released on DVD. If you only know Waters through his more recent titles Hairspray, Serial Mom, and Cry-Baby, you may be surprised at what lurks on these discs.

The first film is Desperate Living. I must tell you I am a long-time Waters fan, and have seen all his film from Mondo Trasho on (including The Diane Linkletter Story), but sadly, this is my least favorite of his films. It's not necessarily bad (for a John Waters movie, that is); it just is not as funny or as happy as his other films. Neither Divine (who was unavailable) nor David Lockery (who was dead) appeared in Desperate Living, and Waters seemed lost without them. This movie is about a town called Mortville, where criminals are allowed to live instead of going to prison. Edith Massey, in her best film role, plays evil Queen Carlotta, who relishes in humiliating her subjects and having her sexual needs met by her "goons". Mink Stole is also in top form here, thanks to the meaty role of an hysterical housewife, who, together with her maid Grizelda, murder her husband and escape to Mortville. Another Waters regular, Mary Vivian Pearce, plays Princess Coo-Coo who, against Queen Carlotta's wishes, falls in love with the garbage collector at the Mortville nudist colony. There are also a female-to-male sex-change operation, a bowl of dog food used as a murder weapon, and female "glory holes" which must be seen to be believed.

Polyester, on the other hand, is a great film. Although Hairspray was Waters breakthrough to mainstream filmmaking, you can tell he was on his way with Polyester. Divine is back, this time playing a victimized housewife with a philandering husband and two dilinquent children. Her life is a complete mess until she meets suave, debonair, (and rich!) Todd Tomorrow, played by Tab Hunter, Waters' first "real" movie star. However, Todd may not be what he appears to be... In an homage to film director William Castle, who used gimmicks to promote his movies, Waters used a gimmick for Polyester: Odorama. Theatergoers were issued Odorama Cards upon entering the theater; each card had ten numbered scratch-and-sniff patches on one side. At certain points during the film, a number would flash on the screen, indicating that it was time to scratch and sniff. The DVD comes with one Odorama card, which is great, unless you want to have a movie party. However, vintage Odorama cards can usually be purchased reasonably on eBay. Just heed the film's warning: "Some things in life just plain stink!"

The commentary track for Polyester is Waters at his brilliant best--most of his audio commentaries are as funny or funnier than his films. The track for Desperate Living, on the other hand, is a disappointment. Waters shares the track with cast member Liz Renay, who has a tendancy to ramble on about things having nothing to do with the movie. You get the impression that each was allotted a set amount of time, and Waters, who's commentary is informative and entertaining is continuously curtailed by Miss Renay's incessant chatter. Waters' other "shared" commentary track is on the DVD of Hairspray. He is joined by Ricki Lake, and their give and take works great. For Desperate Living, Waters should have gone it alone.

John Waters is a very brilliant and odd film director. he brings camp, trash, filth, humor and morality to all of his movies, pushes peoples buttons, goes farther than most dare (and then some) isnt afraid of being censored and does what he does and to me thats brillance. true alot of people will think his work is tasteless stupid and gross but thats the whole point! lol! people who dont have a sense of humor or who are not open minded will not like his movies. these are not for right wing conservatives but they should see them (especially a Dirty shame) to broaden their minds a little more. my personal favorites are Pink Flamingos, A dirty Shame, Female Trouble, Polyester and Desperate Living. Serial mom is also a fav but not in this collection. He has come from underground trash to Queen of filth,trash and crudeness and for not being afraid of being bold, outlandish, outspoken and bizzar, I applaud you John Waters. Brillant.

One of the most popular John Waters films has all the camp, politically incorrect elements we've come to love...with the added incentive of the miraculous ODORAMA (card cleverly included).

You can fight the urge, but you'll still laugh out loud at so many outrageous moments in the life of tragi-comic Francine Fishpaw, and the additional commentary track by director Waters is a whole other comedy in itself. He is candid, bemused and reveals so many of his own personal and professional idiosyncracies that you'll definitely want to own this one for your DVD library.

Too bad Tab Hunter and Mink Stole couldn't have been enticed to add their commentary on another track. They're both delightful raconteurs and fun to watch, too!

John Waters was indie before it was cool. He took a bunch of his friends, shot a movie on a shoestring budget, and made some hilarious classics. They are so bad they're good (hence the campiness), and inspire future generations of film makers, actors, and artists to in fact, be all that they can be in the relm of mediocrity. Ha ha ha ...

Polyester was the now famous turning point moment for John Waters and the rest of the original DreamLander cast and crew. It segwayed him and the rest into mainstream acceptance. Here we see the trials and tribulations of an everyday housewife, Francine Fishpaw, trying to keep her dysfunctional family together. Her husband is cheating while pulling in a successful living in the downtown pornographic theater. Her daughter, LuLu, is a wild child out of control who dances ludly for the boys at lunch period and cavorts with bad boy BoBo (Stiv Bators from The Dead Boys). Her son Dexter is a foot fetishist who criminally stomps on women's feet in between huffing their household cleaning products. It's all falling apart after her husband leaves, her son is arrested, and LuLu goes off to a home for unwed mothers. Further hilarity ensues when Francine meets Tod, a handsome ladies man, who seems to sweep her off her feet to take her away from all the troubles. He is actually plotting with her shrewish mother to overthrow Francine just when things are starting to look up for her. But Francine, ever the brave soul, triumphs in the end.

This was a hilarious story, all the characters of John Waters movies make appearances and preform at their best. There was even an added bonus of Smelly Vision, when Scratch N' Sniff stickers had suddenly burst onto the scene. There is a sadness about it now, not that anyone knew when it was made. Though John Waters would go on to make his most successful commercial venture to date, Hairspray, after this movie, this would end up being the first generation DreamLander ending. Edith Massey, the adorable Cuddles, would die shortly after due to complications from diabetes. Cookie Mueller, though she has only a brief appearance on the faux news as a stomper victim, died of AIDS. Stiv Bators, though far less known as an actor and more as a punk rock pioneer, died following a car accident in Paris, France. And Divine, the star of stars of all John Waters movies, would die of a massive heart attack in his sleep a few years later. This would mark their last hurrah. The movies following, while they have been just as many hits as they were misses, have a distinctly different flavor to them even though the original cast continues to make appearences in them. It was the end of an era, but what an era it was.

This package, the second part of a dvd trilogy, is a must for Waters' fans. As usual, his commentary tracks are very funny and even hold up to repeated listenings. The sound isn't spectacular -- Desperate Living is mono and Polyester Dolby Surround -- but I'm sure this is due to limitations in the source material. Until "Hairspray", John Waters was a very low budget director. "Polyester", his most mainstream film at the time of its release, still only cost about $300,000 to produce. But some of his earliest films are his best, and I put "Polyester" in that camp. The script is very funny and all of the performers give outstanding, if idiosyncratic, performances. There certainly has never been and probably will never be another performer like Edith Massey. And, yes, the dvd does come with an "Odorama" card!

I have always been less thrilled with "Desperate Living." I enjoyed it more this time around, but I still find it less consistently funny than Waters' best films. The first 15 minutes or so are hysterical; Mink Stole screams some of the funniest lines Waters has ever written. But once the scene shifts to Mortville, the script is uneven and, at times, even boring.

Apart from the commentaries (the commentary track on "Desperate Living" also includes "star" Liz Renay), there aren't many extras -- just a few trailers. I hope that when the "Pink Flamingos"/
"Female Trouble" set comes out that the FT disc either includes deleted scenes or features the longer version that I have seen in the theater but not on home video.

Also of note: if one buys all three 3-packs, one can send away for a "bonus" John Waters dvd ... -- certificate in package, also requires original yellow tabs from all three dvd sets.

John Waters' first mainstream film is tamer compared to the likes of PINK FLAMINGOS and DESPERATE LIVING, but it's still bound to offend someone out there.
The movie stars Waters regulars Divine, Edith Massey (Both of whom mercifully remain fully clothed in this. Thank God!) & Mink Stole.
Written, Produced and Directed by Waters & Exec-Produced by Robert Shaye (who would later go on to produce the ELM STREET series) and once again set in the film maker's beloved Baltimore; POLYESTER centers around Francine Fishpaw (Divine) an unhappy 300lb housewife, whose philandering husband Elmer is a porn peddler. This makes the Fishpaw residence a perfect target for anti-porn/violence protestors (One of whom looks freakishly like Patricia Bartlett) who want Elmer to show G rated family movies (presumably) like the psychologically damaging ANNIE; because they feel X rated movies encourage sex offenders (Just like the Bible left Jim Jones & David Koresh with heads full of bad wiring- can you see the hypocrisy here? Waters certainly can).
But love comes into Francine's life in the guise of Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter) the owner of an adult drive-in theater also picketed by the Chastity Belt Crusaders. (NB: I just made that up).
POLYESTER is; in actuality, a suburban satire in which Francine attempts to deal with her dysfunctional family consisting of her pothead son Dexter, who has a foot fetish which is causing him to attack women in the street and steal their shoes, to say nothing of her skanky daughter Lulu who to her mother's horror is dating Bobo, a greasy, glue-sniffing punk (played by Stiv Bators from the band Dead Boys).
Though personally I prefer Waters' underground movies to this, POLYESTER still has enough bad taste & sick humor to please his devotees and is a good introduction to his work for novices.
As with all Waters films (with the exception of HAIRSPRAY) POLYESTER will offend the heck out of prudes; which is always a good thing: People whose idea of a wild night is watching a PG movie in the dark and drinking two lite beers.
I've nearly forgotten the most important detail: This is the movie where on its original theatrical release; Waters introduced the gimmick of a Scratch & Sniff card where when numbers 1-10 flash at the bottom of the screen the viewer would scratch the corresponding square for the aroma. Today it just looks odd with the numbers flashing onscreen. I pity the fools who actually scratched the numbers for the flatulence & glue bits. Good idea though. The title song was written by Debbie Harry of Blondie & is sung by Hunter.

...screams Mink Stole in the opening rant of this delicious double scoop of filth and decadence. And that line sums it up perfectly: this DVD set picks up where "Pink Flamingos/Female Trouble" leave off.

"Desperate Living" was the only movie in John Waters' 70's trash trilogy I had never seen (because it was never available at any local video stores) and I was unsure as to whether he could pull off another camp/trash masterpiece without his "Elizabeth Taylor" (I am referring, of course to that wonderfully, hilariously vulgar creature known as Divine). Ten minutes into this disc, and that answer was a definite "yes!".

Right from its opening moments, "Desperate" has the same sleazy feel as its predecessors, and the lines that come out of Mink Stole's mouth could make up an entire CD of laugh-til-you-drop sound bytes. Sheer brilliance! And the film just gets better as it goes along, when Mink and Jean Hill descend upon Mortville and Susan Lowe and Liz Renay ("I sleep in the room right next to you.....NAAA-keddd!") enter the picture. Their flashback sequences are among the funniest moments in the movie and the "dog food" scene made me laugh out loud--but the "squish" scene at the end of the wrestling match almost made me pee my pants, it was so riotously funny!

Mary Vivian Pearce actually gives a somewhat touching performance here, as I felt sorry for Princess Coo Coo once ruthless Edith Massey as Queen Carlotta started putting her wicked plans into action. The lesbian bathroom bit was another memorable sequence (Kudos to Pat Moran for a brief but deliciously creepy turn as the "bathroom pervert"--and to Van Smith for making her look that way). Susan Lowe as Mole delivered another gut-busting moment as she stood there proudly waving her newly-attached penis ("It never goes soft!!") but also made me wince as Muffy finished off the last "stitch" making Mole scream in agony.

Aside from Princess Coo-Coo's fate at the end, the movie is a real camp classic that, like the rest of Waters' earlier work, definitely improves with repeated viewings. Watch it with friends and you will all be quoting from it for days--"Royal proclomation Number One--Kiss...my...ass!!".

The commentary on this disc is a little disappointing because Waters' shares the time with cast member Liz Renay who spends way too much time raving about her own body and how much she loves her own boobs, but she can be forgiven because I'm sure this discussion must have brought back plenty of fun memories for her.

Waters alone does the commentary on "Polyester", which brings Divine back to the forefront as suburban matriach Francine Fishpaw, who's life of suburban bliss is constantly threatened by one crisis after another. Several of the Dreamlanders appear in this one, but in minor roles (Mink Stole is sadly under-used) yet Divine manges to hold it all together, and the actors playing her teen-age children deliver funny performances, with Lulu's go-go girl-gone-bad antics being a definite highlight (she even has her own theme song).

"Polyester" is Waters' "transition" film--not as offensive to mainstream audiences as some of his earlier works, but still quirky enough so as not to alienate fans of those earlier works. It too, is filled with wickedly bad dialogue you'll be quoting daily ("Scrub down any interesting toilets lately?").

Together, these two films will provide hours of fun--put these on at your next party and see who goes running for cover--you'll find out who your REAL friends are. Buy this set together with "Pink Flamingos/Female Trouble" and you've got hours of fun!!

"Polyester" is definitely a lot tamer than John Waters' previous films, but still stands true to his name. "Polyester" is still as funny as when I watched for the first time a few years ago. An added bonus is that the OdorRama card is included with the DVD. I have never had the chance to view the film with the card in hand, so this was a nice suprise. It definitely adds to film, I couldn't believe how disgusting some of the smells were! I loved it! "Polyester" remains one of my favorite John Waters films, probably because it was one of the first films I saw of his and adored.
"Desperate Living" is my favorite John Waters' movie. I love the characters in the film and how the story comes accross as a morbid type fairy-tale. Edith Massey as Queen Carlotta is absolutely hilarious. The lines that she blurts out are so fantastic! I laugh everytime!

Polyester was probably the first John waters film geared toward a mainstream audience. It worked! Although these days Polyester is something of a cult classic; the movie was originally shown in many cinemas. Mainstream America got its first close-up look at Divine playing Francine Fishpaw; Mink Stole playing Sandra Sullivan, Francine's husband's mistress; and they saw Tab Hunter once again in a role as Todd Tomorrow, a slick guy chasing after Francine.

The action starts from a clever, creative angle: We get a brief introduction by an actor who plays a scientist. He explains to us that we're about to watch a movie in "odorama;" and he shows moviegoers how to scratch and sniff the odorama card when the corresponding numbers light up in the corner of the screen. (Everyone who saw the movie in theaters got an odorama card.) Although this is completely unnecssary for the plot, it somehow makes for a powerful beginning and it encourages audience involvement with the film. THEN we get introduced to the Fishpaw household. Francine, a rather big sized woman (played by Divine) tries hard to keep her family together. That ain't easy: Francine's husband Elmer (David Samson) is fooling around with his secretary (Mink Stole); her pregnant and unwed teenage daughter is running around with junkies (look for Stiv Bators as Bo-Bo Belsinger); and her son loves women's feet so much that he routinely stomps on them and winds up in jail!

Of course, the pressure on Francine is only worsened by her obnoxious, cruel mother. Francine's only friend is her former, mildly mentally handicapped maid Cuddles (Edith Massey) who is suddenly rich now that she's inherited a huge sum of money from some people she used to work for. Francine's world crumbles almost all together when her husband Elmer finally leaves her; and that's when the action speeds up even more! Francine meets Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), a handsome man who's clearly interested in her. Can this be the start of a new life for Francine?

Of course, the plot can go in many different directions from here. Francine eventually becomes alcoholic because of her pain--what will she do, if anything, to combat her drinking problem? How far can Cuddles actually go to help Francine when Francine's in trouble? Will Elmer really leave Francine for good? Will Francine's daughter go off with Bo-Bo? What about Francine's son--what happens when he's in jail? Will Todd turn out to be the right man after all for Francine? Watch the movie and find out!

The cinematography is good in the beginning when the camera is looking down from an aerial view of the Baltimore suburb where The Fishpaws live; and the choreography works well in crowd scenes like Cuddle's debutante party.

The DVD extra gives us a director's commentary; and yes, you DO get an odorama card with this DVD.

Polyester remains one of John Waters's better films. The snappy dialogue and the peppy plot full of campy scenes and zesty one liners kept my attention completely. There are many funny scenes in this movie--if you like movies that are slightly off the beaten path; this one's for you!

Five stars--great job, everybody!