Polyester **** (1981, Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, Mink Stole) – Classic Movie Review 1,525

John Waters edges towards the mainstream but has no intention of going respectable, in the hilarious 1981 satirical black comedy film Polyester. Divine gives a brilliant masterclass in outrageous overacting as Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw. 

Looking for a hit movie with a wider public, producer-writer-director John Waters edges towards the mainstream but fortunately still has no intention of selling out or going respectable in the hilarious, occasionally hysterical 1981 crazy satirical black comedy film Polyester.

It is a bizarre, heady brew of really strange and totally weird ideas, and a surprisingly witty and incisive celebration of the ultimate triumph of all outsiders, as well as a searing attack on complacent, cosy middle-class suburban values. This is bad taste made good.

Strangely warm and appealing (well, kind of!), Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, gives a brilliant masterclass in outrageous comedy overacting as ‘good Christian’ suburban Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw.

Her world suddenly falls apart when she finds that her porno theatre owner husband Elmer (David Samson) is unfaithful to her with his secretary Sandra Sullivan (Mink Stole), that her daughter Lu-Lu (Mary Garlington) is pregnant with bad boy Bo-Bo Belsinger (Stiv Bators), and that her foot-fetishist son Dexter (Ken King) is revealed as the notorious Baltimore Stomper, who gets his kicks breaking local women’s feet.

Now none of that’s good, really, is it?

Game for anything, Fifties heartthrob Tab Hunter turns up half way through the movie as sleazeball Todd Tomorrow, who seems to offer Francine hope of salvation, love and marriage. It is rough acting, but it’s funny. Edith Massey is also notable as Francine’s best friend Cuddles Kovinsky.

Polyester’s sense of humour and shock value still shine out like a beacon in the darkness. The bad taste and anti-religious stance are still gloriously offensive.

Waters’s screenplay has a commendably wide range of targets, taking random but well-aimed pot shots at women’s pictures, US suburban life, divorce, abortion, adultery, alcoholism, racial stereotypes, foot fetishism, and the religious right.

It was shown in cinemas in Odorama, with an explanatory introduction by Dr Quackenshaw (Rick Breitenfeld) and cards with numbers 1 – 10 to scratch ‘n’ sniff at the key moments indicated by the numbers on screen. This is Waters’s homage to the gimmicks in the films of William Castle he admires. Beware, though, as Dr Quackenshaw explains: ‘You will experience some odours that may shock you!’ Just like the movie. Sniff and enjoy!

The film was produced by New Line Cinema on a budget of $300,000 and grossed $1.12 million at the box office. It was filmed in Waters’s native Baltimore, Maryland, during three weeks in October 1980.

For the full experience at home, hunt down a copy of New Line Cinema’s The John Waters Collection Volume 2, which comes with both this film and 1977’s Desperate Living, plus a replica of the original Odorama card.

Polyester was digitally restored and showing in UK cinemas with scratch ‘n’ sniff cards in 2014.

The cast are Divine as Francine Fishpaw, Tab Hunter as Todd Tomorrow, David Samson as Elmer Fishpaw, Edith Massey as Cuddles Kovinsky, Mink Stole as Sandra Sullivan, Ken King as Dexter Fishpaw, Mary Garlington as Lu-Lu Fishpaw, Joni Ruth White as La Rue, Stiv Bators as Bo-Bo Belsinger, Hans Kramm as Heintz, Rick Breitenfeld as Dr Arnold Quackenshaw, Susan Lowe as mall victim Shirley Evans, Cookie Mueller as Betty Lalinski, George Hulse as Principal Kirk, Michael Watson as Freddy Ashton, Mary Vivian Pearce as Nun, and Sharon Niesp as Nun, Jean Hill as Gospel bus hijacker, Leo Braudy as Abortion picketer, Dorothy Braudy as Abortion picketer, George Figgs as Abortion picketer, Marina Melin as Supermarket Victim, and Chuck Yeaton as Hospital Reporter.

Edith Massey (born Edith Y Dornfeld; May 28, 1918 – October 24, 1984) gained a cult following in five John Waters films: Multiple Maniacs (1970), Pink Flamingos (1972), Female Trouble (1974), Desperate Living (1977), and Polyester (1981).

http://derekwinnert.com/a-am-divine-2013-glenn-milstead-movie-review/

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1,525

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/