After a brief stretch of films that departed from his Rabelaisian celebration of base matter (Pecker, Serial Mom) John Waters returns to the grit and boldness of Pink Flamingos in A Dirty Shame. Waters’ humor, (not sparing his own ‘auteurist’ status- his name is credited over the bathroom door in A Dirty Shame) is once again oriented at the sexual conservatism possessing small town America and American cinema as well. In this aspect, the underlying critique of A Dirty Shame is something that Waters has consistently engaged with throughout his film career. New Line Home Entertainment’s DVD release of A Dirty Shame and the John Waters Gift Set featuring seven films attest to Waters’ singular commitment to desublimate cinema and visual experience through an original valorization of the outsider, sex, and outside matter- filth and trash.

A Dirty Shame assaults you with this very same loyalty to the portrayal of unbridled human lust in his marked style of hyperbole and pastiche. Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) a suburban family woman in Pinewood Baltimore suffers a head injury that unlocks, uncontrollably, her dormant sexual energy. In this transformation she is abetted by Ray Ray (Johnny Knoxville), a sex healer who has already lustfully proselytized the lives of eleven Pinewood residents towards the ultimate goal of finding a new sex act. Sylvia is his twelfth apostle who will eventually lead the team to the discovery of this new sex ‘deed’. Sylvia’s charged identity also allows her to acknowledge the lascivious obsessions of her go-go dancing, mammoth breast bearing daughter- Caprice aka Ursula Udders (Selma Blair). Meanwhile, Sylvia’s mother Big Ethel (Suzanne Shepherd), Marge the Neuter (Mink Stole) and Sylvia’s husband- Vaughn (Chris Isaak) are trying their best to contain the heady perversion that has consumed Pinewood residents by preaching the values of a sex-free, normal (aka ‘neuter’ in the film) life-style. The narrative tension is hence hinged on two queries: Will Pinewood become Lustville under Ray Ray’s astral orgasms or succumb to the decency rallies of Big Ethel and Marge the Neuter? What is the new sex act that the Waters has in store for us?

The opening shots of A Dirty Shame, in terms of color, sound and camera movement remind us of the opening scenes in Lynch’s Blue Velvet- a film that explores the otherworldly misdemeanors in the quiet and unassuming space of Lumberton. Secondly, the hyperbolic rendering of foliage in Waters’ film, particularly the bushes and hedges that arouse and respond to the sexual rampage in Pinewood bring to mind the horticultural transformation that Edward Scissorhands creates in a town that ostracizes him. These films construct a lineage for the sort of criticism that Waters achieves in A Dirty Shame. Through black humor (there are quotes of Russ Meyers and Night of the Living Dead) and excess the film makes a serious observation as to how paranoia has become a mode of defense and protection under the slightest hint of change (here it is against harmless, and as Waters says in the commentary impossible, sexual indulgences). The film pays homage to a number of sexploitation films and songs in registering its nostalgia for a period during which America was possibly more sexually alive and tolerant. Each time a character tumbles in and out of concussions, a montage of clips culled from B-grade archival films such as Satan and Virgin, Birth of a Baby indicate that they form the (sub) cultural unconscious of contemporary cinema where sexual revolution (of which Waters himself is a pioneer) has been co-opted and assimilated by the mainstream.

Tracey Ullman’s portrayal of a character who swings from the homely look of a ‘neutered’ wife to a raunchy, sex maniac brings to mind the self-conscious performance style of Waters’ erstwhile ‘star’ attraction- Divine in Female Trouble. For those not familiar with Waters’ films the special features give ample information on his oeuvre and historical position in American Underground cinema of the early Nineteen sixties. There are two audio commentaries; one provided by Waters and the other collectively by Vincent Peranio (Production Designer), Van Smith (costume designer), Pat Moran (associate producer and casting director), Devra Kitterman (greens foreman) and Brook Yeaton (prop master). It is always a delight to hear Waters talk about his films because there is so much of detail he discusses for every shot composition and reveals trivia about Baltimore, obscure references and inspirations. More than anything else, Waters’ commentary exhibits the conviviality and sincerity that supports his provocation. The second audio commentary provided by the crewmembers sheds scattered light on the film. It is chatty and anecdotal and the conversations wander often into personal reminiscences without consistent attention to the film itself. It should not have been an audio commentary for the entire feature but included in the Behind the Scenes featurette given that there is information overlap between the two sections.

The second part of the special features is an extensive Behind the Scenes section- All the Dirt on A Dirty Shame comprising of interviews with Waters (discussions on his oeuvre in general including his critical observation on A Dirty Shame's NC-17 rating), cast and crew members (special focus on prosthetics designer Tony Gardner) and informative insights on the origins and formation of the ‘Dreamlanders’. Brief interviews with archival film advisor Frank Henenlotter and music consultant Larry Benicewicz on the selection of the nudie-cuties, birth-films and adult music are treats for sexploitation cinephiles. In addition, the original trailer of Pink Flamingos, shown without a clip from the film is a great inclusion for those nostalgic of Nineteen sixties, underground American Cinema.

The DVD with its extra features and the deleted scene that is said to be included in the French release of the film make for a great purchase only if you are not offended and welcoming of the hyperbolic rendering of sex and fetishism. Released the same year as A Dirty Shame, probably the typological obsession with sex in the works of Dr. Kinsey and a rather staid version of his life in film will suit your sensibility if you can’t cheer the tantalizing gallery of amusing fetishes in Waters’ world.

DVD Film Score: B+
DVD Special Features Score: A-
Overall Score: A-