Review of A Dirty Shame (2004) by Jack S — 26 Jun 2009

I'm so glad I finally got around to watching this. Waters had gotten progressively tamer, and Tracey Ullman usually tries a little too hard for my tastes, so I let 5 years slip by. But wow, smack in the middle of the Bush years, and after all the Hairspray hoopla, Waters returns to his nasty roots and delivers a raunchy gem. It's got a great cheap feel to it (sometimes reminiscent of Troma films) like Waters' early efforts. There isn't much of a plot but who cares??? It's one outrageous laugh after another as Baltimore's sex-crazed hordes face-off with the uptight "neuters." (A blow to the head can change you from one to the other.) Ullman turns in a really fun performance, as do Selma Blair, Chris Isaak, and Johnny Knoxville. (You can almost think of Isaak and Knoxville's characters as naughty/nice sides of the same coin.) Waters blends in vintage obscure film clips, adding a surreal, almost psychedelic edge to the proceedings. As always, the music is fantastic--yes, even "Hot Nuts"! Which according to the Diner screenplay should've been playing over the opening scene, but wasn't used in the actual movie. Good ol' Baltimore.

Huge bonus for fans of The Wire: Pat Moran, who was the Wire's casting director, has worked with John Waters since the mid '60s. So MANY Wire actors turn up in this in hilarious small roles. Moran is featured in a lengthy, informative documentary on the DVD.