Firstly, let this be said; John Waters films are not for everyone. Let me reword that; John Waters films are for hardly anyone. There are very few (that I know) who can stomach his movies.
Ok now that that is out of the way, let me also say that John Waters is quite possibly the number one person I would like to meet that I haven’t already. His sense of humor is incredible, he has strange and weird hobbies, he knows the most interesting of people, he collects fake babies, and he is an all around incredibly interesting person. He takes complete trash, adds a dash of his magic, and suddenly his films are the most colorful, hilarious, absurd, and disgusting things you could possibly imagine.
Desperate Living is the story of the events that take place after an incredibly neurotic woman (Peggy) and her housekeeper (Grizelda) accidentally murder Peggy’s husband. They quickly flee their suburban Baltimore home to avoid being arrested by the police. Shortly outside the city they are pulled over by an officer. The officer rapes the two women and tells them of Mortville, a community in the woods for outcasts, weirdos, and criminals. Once they arrive to the garbage infested Mortville, they go in search of a room for rent. As luck would have it, they find a room out back of a house, who’s previous tenant died the night before. The property belongs to two promiscuous lesbian lovers, Muffy and Mole, who Peggy and Grizelda quickly befriend. Shortly after arriving the have a run in with the queen of Mortville. The queen is an unpleasant lady who gets her kicks watching others suffer, torturing her daughter, and from men 1/3 her age. Desperate to escape their crummy living conditions, Peggy sees a way to work with the queen, and give all the citizens rabies so that they can wipe out the entire town of Mortville. It soon becomes a race for the other characters to overthrow the queen and Peggy, and regain their rights in Mortville.
Like all John Water’s films, this one contains all the usual suspects, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, and Mary Vivian Pierce. However, this was the only film he made during the life of Divine, that he wasn’t in. In an interview John Waters said that Divine was supposed to play the housekeeper, but was unable to fit it in with his schedule. Nevertheless, Jean Hill played Grizelda perfectly.
Made in 1977 this is classic John Waters, and in my opinion one of his best films. Like his other works, this movie is full of nudity, controversial imagery, and total filth. I always watch in complete fascination at the characters he has met in his life, befriended, and later captured on film. Each one of the actors (in all of his films) brings so much of themselves to each role, that you really get to feel like you know the stars themselves. As someone who spends a lot of time people watching, I think this is the cream of the crop in strange human behavior.
**There is nudity and much vulgarity in the following trailer…..so watch with caution! **
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