John Waters Threesome

Join us for the NewFest36 John Waters Threesome, a trio of films by the iconic queer filmmaker playing at BAM on Saturday October 12!

PECKER (1998)
Happy-go-lucky amateur photographer Pecker (Edward Furlong) can’t help but lovingly capture the gritty charm of everyday Baltimore with his modest camera. After successful DIY shows at local sub shops and laundromats, Pecker’s candid portraits capture the eye of a rarefied NYC curator (Lili Taylor), kickstarting a windfall that brings Pecker, his no-nonsense beau (Christina Ricci) and his eccentric family to the Big Apple—and into the belly of the elite art world.

One of the sharpest and sweetest satires in writer/director John Waters’ formidable filmography, PECKER skewers the absurdity of haughty gallery culture while playfully confronting themes of exploitation, consent and fame. Featuring hilarious ensemble support from Martha Plimpton, Brandon Sexton III and Mary Kay Place—along with cheeky cameos from Patricia Hearst and Cindy Sherman—PECKER pits sincerity against cynicism with compassionate appreciation for both. Take a picture—it’ll laugh longer.


POLYESTER (1981)
Camp icon Divine stars as Francine Fishpaw, a frustrated housewife whose domestic life isn’t exactly what she imagined. Her husband is a cheating louse, her daughter is heavily involved with bad boys, and her son is making local news as a notorious foot-stomper. As her husband exclaims, “Well this whole world stinks, so get used to it!” Coincidentally, Francine has a particularly perceptive sense of smell. (Upon the film’s release, writer/director John Waters revived the tradition of Odorama with scratch‘n’sniff cards—conjuring a film that asked the audience to stop and smell the roses…or gasoline…or flatulence.)

Francine seeks solace in her rags-to-riches friend Cuddles (Dreamland stalwart Edith Massey, in her final performance) and curious stranger Todd Tomorrow (a tabloid-ready Tab Hunter), yet spirals into alcoholism and the typical trappings of a suffocating suburban reality. This delirious melodrama is one of Waters’ finest achievements and a perfectly pungent parody of Douglas Sirk’s so-called “women’s pictures.”


FEMALE TROUBLE (1974): 50th Anniversary
John Waters’ saga of delinquency spans the wretched life of self-proclaimed “thief and shit-kicker” Dawn Davenport (Divine, who delivers an all-out powerhouse performance for the ages). Following Dawn’s voyage from her teenage flight from home after ruining her family’s Christmas (“I asked for cha cha heels—black ones!”) to her unholy rise filled with shocking glory, Dawn disrespects everyone in her path with a crooked smile. Whether chastising her unwanted daughter, taunting rival neighbors or becoming the face of the fascistic Lipstick Beauty Salon, Dawn claws and fights for some peace of mind throughout her hilariously loathsome journey through life.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, FEMALE TROUBLE remains a magnum opus for Waters—distilling the hallmark nasty retorts, outward hostility, flippant criminality and oddly earnest commentary we’ve come to expect from his perceptive, potty-mouthed legacy. And five decades later, this ultimately searing indictment of trash celebrity culture remains almost uncomfortably fresh.