This is Waters' second best movie, next to Pink Flamingos. There are so many memorable lines in this puke-fest that it's nearly impossible to list them all. The story and events are so repulsive and sick that I'd rather let them be a surprise. Desperate Living is quite funny, quite gross, and quite nonsensical. If you are looking to watch something that makes any form of sense whatsoever, this is not your movie. If you want stomach-churning grossness for the sake of stomach-churning grossness, juvenile acting, low-budget film-making, and line after line of hilarious dialog, then Desperate Living should please you. John Waters still hasn't topped this one or Pink Flamingos to date.
Desperate Living
1977
Action / Comedy / Crime / Fantasy / Horror
Desperate Living
1977
Action / Comedy / Crime / Fantasy / Horror
Plot summary
After killing her husband, Peggy Gravel and her murderous maid Grizelda, wind up in the crazy town of Mortville, where Queen Carlotta presides over a sleazy collection of misfits.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
October 26, 2020 at 03:36 AM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Classic Waters
Bizarre and interesting trash
DESPERATE LIVING, John Waters' first movie without his muse Divine, is a fitfully entertaining and really bizarre affair that's hard to sit through at times, but still kind of works by sheer force of will. The story (if one can call it that) is about a woman named Peggy (Mink Stole) who has been recently let out of a mental institution. After accidentally killing her husband, she runs away to the (fictional) town of Mortville, a slum which is ruled by a tyrannical queen, Carlotta (Edith Massey). This film serves as kind of an intermediary between his earlier "trash" and the more mainstream fare Waters began making in the 80's. The cinematic quality has yet to be cemented, and his actors shout most of their lines as if the audience was deaf, but there still is humor found in some pretty dark and off-the-wall material. Towards the end, there's even some political commentary thrown in about fascism, oppressive government and class warfare. It would seem slightly shoehorned if the movie hadn't taken place in this fictional/alternate universe, but it still gives the film a little depth. As far as acting goes, nobody really gives a "great" performance, but they still have fun with the lines they were given to say. Edith Massey was probably the most entertaining out of them all, as a sick "monarch" who gets pleasure out of making her subjects miserable, and even torments her own daughter. The camera-work and cinematography isn't too great either, but it was fairly standard for Waters' lower-budget work. The music was fine too, and there's a nice tune that bookends the film. Overall, it's not as great as the collaborations with Divine but it still stands out as one of John Waters' better films before he went more mainstream. For me, it was a little hard to sit through at times but I'm glad that I stuck it out until the end.
Long live trash!
If you've seen any of John Waters's 1970s flicks, then you should know that he made every effort to shock the viewer. "Desperate Living" is no exception. This depiction of a colony of rejects has it all. Make no mistake about it, John Waters is a national treasure.