Truly Dreadful Film

Highly Overrated But Still Good

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This movie is just dripping with humor. The acting is terrible and over-the-top but exactly appropriate for this kind of movie. The dialog is always ironic. There are no jokes in this movie, this movie is a joke. I was smiling and laughing almost immediately from the start. The perfect dagger in the heart of all those bloated, pretentious, Hollywood films. Words cannot express how much I love this movie. Divine as always, is great. It contains such classic lines as "I'm going to get an abortion and I can't wait!" A purely farcical ridiculous look at suburban American life. Silly. Nobody can ever do or has done what John Waters is doing. He has created a style and put a moat around it.

Director and writer John Waters who also directed and wrote other classic comedy flicks, Multiple Maniacs 1970, Pink Flamingos 1972, Female Trouble 1974, Desperate Living 1977, and Serial Mom 1994 plus the classic flick Cry Baby 1990 has created another gem in Polyester.Starring Divine who was also in John Waters's Multiple Maniacs and Pink Flamingos.Also starring Tab Hunter.Also starring Edith Massey who was also in John Waters's Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living.Also starring Mink Stole who was also in John Waters's Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living. Serial Mom and Cry Baby.I enjoyed all the characters and their issues! If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic comedy flicks, 2 Days in Paris 2007, After Hours 1985, Clerks 1994, Clerks II 2006, Delicatessen 1991, Duck Soup 1933, The Hangover 2009, Hercules Returns 1993, Idle Hands 1999, Life of Brian 1979, Living in Oblivion 1995, Meaning of Life 1983, The Out of Towners 1970, Remote Control 1992, Hangin' with the Homeboys 1991, Swingers 1996, Denise Calls Up 1995 and Grimsby 2016.

This movie deliberately set out to be offensive and awful--though fortunately NOT as offensive and gross as Waters' earlier film, PINK FLAMINGOS. So, in many ways this is one of Waters' first more approachable and mainstream films. Now I still would NOT let youngsters watch the film (mostly because it talks about a lot of strange and sick taboos), but it's probably okay for teens.Divine stars as a housewife with the most awful family imaginable. Her husband is a pornographer who hates her guts and sleeps with his secretary, her son has a bizarre foot fetish and attacks women and her daughter is a total whore (and proud of it). As a result, the most NORMAL member of the family is the cross-dressing Divine! In addition to the family, a whole cast of maniacs and freaks co-star in the film--ranging from the always gross and untalented Edith Massey (who is so bad she's GREAT) to the once-famous Tab Hunter to Jean Hill in a small part as a woman who hijacks a bus in a small but hilarious scene. As far as the acting goes, all these people deliberately overdo it and are pure camp--giving the film a kooky sort of charm.In addition to weird characters and bad acting, the film also features a script that is just too bizarre and trashy to be believed. It is sure to offend almost all viewers, but is also terribly funny. I particularly liked the scenes involving the abortion clinic and the nuns--you'd just have to see it to believe it.All together, all these bizarre and shocking elements make for a very kooky and funny film that can't help but make you laugh--unless you are dead. While the film bears almost no similarity to later polished Waters films (such as HAIRSPRAY), it is wonderful in its own way--and almost as much fun to watch as my personal favorite, FEMALE TROUBLE. See it to believe it.

As many of the readers saw on this site, I wrote a rather scathing review of John Waters' Desperate Living. "A desperate cry for attention" is what I called it. However, I also mentioned in that review that I enjoyed Polyester. After recently seeing Cry-Baby, I've come to a conclusion. Even though he's sick and twisted, when he wants to be, John Waters is actually a good director.Polyester certainly doesn't have much of a plot and is more concerned about the characters, a trait which I find admirable (that's what the Coens do). All of the characters are laugh out loud funny. The pushy husband, the cross dressing Divine, Lulu, the foot fetishist son (and thank God this movie doesn't have too much Edith Massey, that woman looks like she was dug up from the grave). Every character is so wacky in this wild ride that you can't help but laugh.I won't get too detailed about the plot because it's essentially about a neurotic housewife (Divine) whose marriage and kids are out of control. Her porno theater owning husband is having an affair with his secretary and unafraid to show it, the daughter hangs out with the bad boys, and as I mentioned earlier, the son is a foot fetishist (I think it'd be funny as hell to smash random people's feet). All of this leads her heavy boozing and pill popping. Thank God Tab Hunter comes along, he cheers her up, at least for awhile.One example of Waters pulling off good directing. Even though I'm a pro-lifer, I thought the scene when Lulu is attacked by pro-lifers, tries to punch her own baby, and is finally being taken away by nuns, was hilarious. I know Waters is a fan of abortion but in this scene, the zany pace made everything so ridiculous and as a result, it was funny. Everything was exaggerated to the nth degree, so I found it hard to be offended. The pace gets so frantic that you can't help but jump on for the ride.Overall, I liked this movie. Despite the fact that these actors won't be hitting Broadway anytime soon, the sheer enthusiasm of every character made their performances enjoyable. You could tell that they had a lot of fun making this gross out farce. It certainly isn't as offensive as past Waters vehicles, and that's fine. His characters were great and the hyper camera work shows that Waters knew what he was doing. I think Waters is actually pretty talented when he's not just grossing you out, and this movie showcases his skills.