Female Trouble (1974)

Watch and learn as juvenile delinquent Dawn Davenport runs away from home on a Christmas morning, becomes pregnant with her daughter Taffy by a man who gives her a ride, starts a successful career as a thief, and marries a handsome beautician named Gator. Unfortunately, her life goes quickly downhill. Taffy grows up to be a brat, Gator turns out to be a drunken, adulterous louse, and Dawn is constantly harrassed by Gator's aunt Ida, who thinks Gator would be much happier if he was gay. Dawn soon finds relief with Don and Donna Dasher, a couple of artsy eccentrics who offer to help Dawn start a career of exquesite beauty and violent crime. After all, the Dashers' philosophy is, "Crime IS Beauty!" But as Dawn's grip on reality slips and her problems mount, she becomes determined to become famous, no matter what she has to do or how many people she has to kill.

I think I should make a disclaimer stating that this is a review of a John Waters film. The film in question is one made early in Waters' career, when his taste for shock value was at its peak. How much of a peak? Well, to quote the so-called "Pope of Trash" himself, "When someone vomits while watching one of my films, I consider it a standing ovation."

Of all the John Waters-Divine collaborations, this one is consistently my favorite (although Polyester comes very close.) It doesn't rely as much on visual shocks and is better paced than Pink Flamingos, which is probably the best known of Waters' early underground films. Although Divine doesn't quite steal the show as she often does in Pink Flamingos, her role as Dawn Davenport is quite an inspiration. In the course of the movie, Dawn goes from angry punk teen to serial killer/fashion model, and Divine takes us on the ride with a manic glee. I doubt anyone else can deliver Dawn's semi-psychotic rants so hilariously and with such a delightfully over-the-top air. Probably the best scene of this is Dawn's floorshow toward the end, which is definitely a sight to be seen.

Kudos also go to Mink Stole, who for her role had to act like a demented twelve-year old and dress up in a costume that comes across as a bizarre parody of Shirley Temple. We also have Edith Massey, who struts around in tight black dresses and gives a performance that's an excellent prelude to her most memorable role as Queen Carlotta in Desperate Living. Like pretty much everyone else in the film, Edith seems to be enjoying herself with the hammy lines and bizarre monologues Waters has written for her character and, although she still visibly struggles with her dialogue, she offers a steadier performance than in Pink Flamingos.

That brings me to the often-repeated positive critique of all of Waters' films. Female Trouble unashamedly adds subjects like violent crime, drug abuse, the death penalty, and even child abuse to the plot and it can still come across as a hilarious comedy. Waters is just so gosh darn amiable in his films that one would have to have a low shock tolerance or almost no sense of humor not to appreciate on some level his philosophy on life gleamed in his films.

But, yes, this is a great comedy, and one of the best of his pre-Hairspray films. Waters manages to satirize everything from modern art critics (a frequent target of his) to the sensationalist media to the female prison drama, targets that naturally are still relevant.


Choice Quotes

There's a lot I wanted to add here, but you'd probably rather get them from the film itself, so just one:

"Oh Gator, I'm so afraid you'll find a wife, have kids, get a job at an office...The world of heterosexual is a sick and boring life." -Aunt Ida, trying to convince Gator of the merits of gay life.
"You can't kill Krishna! Krishna is consciousness!" -Taffy, upon converting to the Hari Krishna cult

Cast Connections

A lot of the main actors in John Waters' films were regulars, and appeared in many of his films frequently, so since I plan on reviewing more John Waters films it would be kind of repetitive.