Pink Flamingos

1972 "An exercise in poor taste"
6| 1h33m| NC-17| en| More Info
Released: 17 March 1972 Released
Producted By: New Line Cinema
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".

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Reviews

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Lightdeossk Captivating movie !
Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation
Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
guanche Sort of a cinematic Zap comic. Probably the most disgusting movie one will ever see, but also one of the funniest. The apogee of sick dark humor. Despite the low budget and semi or unprofessional actors (except Divine and Mink Stole) it's surprisingly well acted and scripted. It even has a coherent plot about a war between the Divine clan---"The Notorious Babs Johnson (Divine), her traveling companion Cotton, her delinquent son Crackers, and her mentally ill mother Miss Edie"--- and a sleazy Gothic/pseudo-hippie couple, Raymond and Connie Marble--- who; in addition to peddling smack in schoolyards; kidnap and imprison hitchhiking hippie chicks who are then raped by their butler to produce babies for sale to lesbian couples. His indirect method (graphically depicted) of masturbating into a syringe and injecting the semen into the women's vaginas is cut from some prints. The Marbles are furious that National Enquirer affected their "social standing" by declaring Divine "The Filthiest Person In The World", a title they believe they own. Raymond even shoots up some dope for the camera to put a point on it.The film is rife with graphic, perversely comical sex and violence, as well as some truly stomach turning scatology. Except perhaps for really twisted minds, there's nothing sexually stimulating here---just revulsion and deranged hilarity. A scene where Divine fellates "her" "son" is also cut from some prints. If anything, this material will put most people off of sex for quite a while. There are a few scenes--- one in particular---that are truly revolting. I say in all seriousness that those with weak stomachs should probably avoid this film. I know a couple of people who were actually traumatized in this regard (I'm not joking) and even decades later get nauseous at the mere mention of the title or the star. A definite must for adventurous filmies willing to brave some of the worst gross out images imaginable in exchange for a raucously funny, way off beat cinematic experience. Those unwilling to do so should stay away!
Scott LeBrun From the legendary John Waters comes this notorious exercise in camp and trash. It helped him to cement his reputation as a prime purveyor of purely sleazy and grimy material. The pacing isn't the greatest - some scenes really go on too long - but Waters comes up with some truly awe inspiring nuttiness. The viewer won't believe what they're seeing.The great drag performer Divine plays a character named Divine, now assuming the identity of "Babs Johnson" and living in an isolated trailer in Maryland. Divines' trailer mates include a son, Crackers (Danny Mills), a "travelling companion", Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce), and an egg-loving mother, Edie (Edith Massey), who's confined to a playpen much of the time. Divine takes great pride in her status as "the filthiest person alive", but the uptight Connie Marble (Mink Stole) covets that title and will do anything to get it.Also among the sordid characters are Connies' perverted husband Raymond (David Lochary), put upon butler Channing (Channing Wilroy), who's employed to knock up the hapless ladies kept in the Marbles' basement, Cookie the spy (Cookie Mueller), and Edies' beloved egg delivery man (Paul Swift). All of these quirky freaks provide solid entertainment value - Connie sports red hair and Raymond sports blue hair - but Divine dominates them all with a knowingly hammy performance and an incredible "just go for it" attitude.The various disgusting things that Waters has his people do really shouldn't be spoiled here, so that potential viewers can experience them fresh. The director fills the soundtrack with many catchy golden oldies and gives us a final scene that we're pretty much guaranteed to remember.Waters did earn this viewers' respect for having the courage of his convictions. He succeeds at creating a cult comedy that is equal parts jaw dropping, offensive, and funny in the most appreciably offbeat way possible.Seven out of 10.
John Fonte First of all, I want to quickly squeeze in that the dialogue is wholly atrocious. I can't stand it. Now for the review...John Waters misses the mark in Pink Flamingos, overshooting avant-garde paraphelia to eye-rolling licentiousness. The plot revolves around two parties with an overly uncanny fetish for filth (coincidentally not too far from each other). Why or how such perversion in their lives came to be is never explained. Even the setting is almost anachronistic in nature.I watched this movie finding myself without care for any of the characters amidst this misfire of art. John Waters may have set the benchmark high for sickness in cinema, but watching it without any rhyme or reason implores me to wonder why I'm bothering watching any of it. If John Waters wanted to prove something by producing this movie, he grossly failed (pun absolutely intended).It could be possible (albeit highly unlikely) that John Waters made Pink flamingos "ars gratia artis," but that failed too. The utterly shoddy camera-work coupled with the haphazard film editing is a quick recipe to make a movie unwatchable. Waters has never cooked it more perfectly.My least favorite movie is Freddy got Fingered. That movie is mindless shock humor. Coincidence? I think not.
nwsts Trying to not "overanalyze" it…the film seemed to be trying to "shock" the audience, but in today's "Two Girls, One Cup" world it was anything but shocking. I guess in 1972 (pre-internet days) we were not as de- sensitized. Anyway if you take away the shock value, I'm not sure what is left. The one really funny bit (to me) was the second flashing incident where the "girl" flashed him back and the flasher fled in panic. I don't know why but that was just plain funny to me. The BJ scene was pretty good but was edited out during the theatrical run. Also, I'm trying to remember when Deep Throat came out. It seems like around that time people were trying to push the borders of what a "legitimate" theater might show (remember "Fritz the Cat?"). I'm glad they pushed, but even so, have we made progress in showing nudity in mainstream theaters? I don't think so. Even today, I don't think the DVD BJ scene could be shown in a legit theater. Again, thank god for the internet. Nowadays anyone with a cell phone and a computer can be a filmmaker as good as this film (and they frequently are).