Pink Flamingos (1972)

A story about filth, eggs, cannibalism, and a singing anus.

Listen in as me and my guest, Mike, talk through this seminal independent film from Charm City.

Written, directed, filmed, edited, and narrated by Baltimore's transgressive maestro of trash cinema, John Waters (Multiple Maniacs, Female Trouble, Serial Mom, Pecker), this film has been heralded as "a delightfully repugnant cinematic treasure" (CineVue) and as "the quintessential American Family Film" (Austin Chronicle). I tend to agree with Entertainment Weekly in that it's "subversive and, in its gross way, quite spectacular."

It tells the story of Baltimore criminal, Divine (played by Waters' ingénue Divine), and her escalating feud against Raymond and Connie Marble (David Lochary and Mink Stole) for the title of "Filthiest Person Alive." We are taken into the trailer home world of Divine, her mother Edie who is kept in a playpen, her chicken-loving son Crackers, and a litany of colorful supporting characters. It is from this faux wood and vinyl castle that Divine plots her nastiness against the Marbles and where they throw a popper-fueled rager featuring a cannibal cookout and an extra with a singing butthole.

This flick is wonderfully debauched and just as likely to shock and astound audiences now as it did nearly 50 years ago. Talk about holding up against the millstone of time.

The film is more widely available in its 25th anniversary format on DVD and VHS. Yes, I said VHS.