Yesterday was John Waters’ birthday, and we celebrate by mentioning 5 of his most iconic films.
The Pope of Trash. The Duke of Dirt. The Prince of Puke. Filth Elder. The auteur who made Pink Flamingos and gave Divine the Jayne Mansfield treatment turned 75 yesterday, and that’s reason enough to celebrate.
“Growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, John Waters was not like other children; he was obsessed with violence and gore, both real and on the screen. With his weird counter-culture friends as his cast, he began making silent 8mm and 16mm films in the mid-’60s; he screened these in rented Baltimore church halls to underground audiences drawn by word of mouth and street leafleting campaigns.” IMDb Mini Biography By Stuart Young
5. Cry Baby (1990)
In 1950s Baltimore, a bad boy with a heart of gold wins the love of a good girl, whose boyfriend sets out for revenge.
4. Hairspray (1988)
A ‘pleasantly plump’ teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
3. A Dirty Shame (2004)
An uptight, middle-aged, repressed woman turns into a sex addict after getting hit on the head, and she then falls into an underground subculture of sex addicts in suburban Baltimore.
2. Female Trouble (1974)
A spoiled schoolgirl runs away from home, gets pregnant while hitch-hiking, and ends up as a fashion model for a pair of beauticians who like to photograph women committing crimes.
1. Pink Flamingos (1972)
Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as “The Filthiest Person Alive”.
