Polyester (1981)

Really Surprised!

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Best movie of this year hands down!

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

In Baltimore, Francine Fishpaw (Divine) only wants to be a normal suburban housewife. The problem is that her husband Elmer shows pornos in his theater and the neighbors are demonstrating on their front lawn. Her kids are flirtatious Lu-Lu and foot-obsessed Dexter. There is a notorious Baltimore Foot Stomper on the loose. Elmer is cheating with his secretary. Dexter gets expelled from school. Lu-Lu fails every class and gets knocked up by pathetic thug Bo-Bo.John Waters is reveling in deliberate bad acting, satirical craziness and outrageous story. It's weird and that's how he likes it but it isn't big laughs funny. It's not for everyone and it's not really even for me. The big plus of this movie is the charismatic Divine. She brings a humanity to her unreal character.

Polyester (1981): Dir: John Waters / Cast: Divine, Edith Massey, Tab Hunter, David Samson, Mink Stole: Released with "ordorama" where cards are distributed for scratch and sniff action when a number flashes on screen. John Waters starts us out with a rose at number 1 but eventually unleashes every disgusting smell imaginable. This is Waters' first R rated film after directing the X rated Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. Divine plays Francine Fishpaw whose life is coming undone. Her glue sniffing son is the Baltimore Foot Stomper. Her daughter is pregnant and dating a rebel. She cheers with glee claiming the "F" on her report card was "fantastic." Francine's husband runs a local pornography theatre and overjoyed by the reaction of the protesters. This is twisted and will offend certain tastes but it contains improvements within Waters' skill. Divine is a sight struggling to be a good house wife while battling the negative surrounding her. Edith Massey is hideously adorable as former maid Cuddles, Francine's closest friend whose mentality is challenged. Tab Hunter plays Todd Tomorrow whose wayward charm connects to Francine's fantasy. David Samson plays Elmer Fishpaw who smiles at controversy. Mink Stole plays the sleazy secretary whom Elmer joins in harassing his wife with their affair. Questionable humour yet hilarious spin attacking suburban lifestyles that reek of phony portrayals. Score: 9 / 10

Cult director John Waters skimmed the outskirts of mainstream film-making with "Polyester", which had a bigger budget and better distribution than his previous output--it's even got Tab Hunter in the cast! Divine is a riot as a three-hundred-pound suburban housewife who is trying to deal with her wildly dysfunctional family: her daughter is pregnant, her husband is cheating on her, and her son is a notorious criminal (he sneaks up on unsuspecting ladies and stomps on their feet!). Although the movie runs too long and eventually wears out its welcome, Waters keeps it hopping with wild, wicked energy. Tasteless, hilariously overwrought, and full of memorable sight-gags (like a picnic that gets ruined by ants). The flashing numbers on the screen related to a crazy theatrical gimmick called "Odorama". Leave it to John Waters to come up with the first scratch-and-sniff comedy. ** from ****

John Waters is truly a great director. I had seen Pink Flamingoes but not to much of his earlier work. I am more familiar with his later works like Serial Mom or Cecil B. Demented, which is all great stuff. Polyester is the bridge, as so many people put it, between his disgusting yet entertaining earlier work to more mainstream films like Hairspray.Divine plays Francine Fishpaw. A rather large lady who is married to a man who owns a pornographic theater. Her son is a drug attic who loves to smash womens feet and her daughter is a wannabe Go-Go dancer who gets herself pregnant. Francine has only one friend in the world and that is Cuddles who is wonderfully played by Edith Massey. After Francine catches her husband sleeping with another woman (Mink Stole) Francine's life starts going into a downward spiral as she can't control her children and she becomes an alcoholic. Only, when she meets a man named Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter) do things start to change... or do they? I had a grin on my face throughout the whole movie. The storyline sounds pretty depressing but only John Waters could have pulled this off and turn it into a complete comedy. Divine is right at home in her role as Francine. You truly do feel completely sorry for her. Edith Massey is excellent in the role as Cuddles and is definitely the most likable character in the whole movie. What made this movie so great for me was when this came out in theaters I was to young to see this. I just recently bought it on DVD and it comes with an actual Scratch N' Sniff card for the movie! Great stuff! This movie gets a 9/10 from me.