Review of Pink Flamingos (1976) by Thomas H — 11 Oct 2008
When a movie creates a new genre, people take notice. When John Waters makes a film, people tend to run. In this case, people took notice and ran, which is too bad because there is a lot to take in here.
Overweight drag queen, Divine, vows to be the "Filthiest Person Alive." Her infant-like mother, mentally-challenged son and the rest of her group help her in her quest and things are right in their lives (as odd as this seems).
This is all until competition arrives in the form of a couple that kidnaps women to impregnate them and sell their babies to- you know what? If you are still reading this, then check out this film that gave us the "gross out" genre and has remained one of the few films to make even me a little uneasy (the finale is, well, it must unfortunately be seen to be believed).
It is beyond rough in a "home movies" way (random zooms, lingering long takes, foggy audio, etc.) but that kind of makes it even more effective. It is also beyond rough in a content way as scenes of things no sane person should watch flood the screen (you name it, it is here).
It is also revolutionary in an "art house shocker" way and incredibly hilarious (no, really, it is). A profoundly important film that will test your patience and quite possibly kill you from laughter (any birthday party that ends in cannibalism is a winner in my book).
This review of Pink Flamingos (1976) was written by Thomas H on 11 Oct 2008.
Pink Flamingos has generally received mixed reviews.
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