Multiple Maniacs – A John Waters, Carny Masterpiece

Review by Steve D. Stones

Thanks to my co-blogger and good friend Doug Gibson, I now have a beautiful Blu-Ray print of John Waters' 1970 carny masterpiece – Multiple Maniacs. Doug purchased the film for me as a Christmas gift. The print is a remastered special edition put out by Criterion/Janus Films in 2016 with an audio commentary by director Waters. The film also has interviews with cast and crew, such as George Figgs, who played Jesus Christ, and Mink Stole, who has at least two roles in the film, including a “church whore,” as she refers to herself in the film.

The film follows a group of misfits known as “the Cavalcade of Perversions” who set up a fast and cheap carnival attraction with such performances as a puke eater, a dope addict, a woman licking a bicycle seat and two men kissing. The main attraction, of course, is Lady Divine, who kills and robs patrons of their money and jewelry. Most of the film shows a strange and hateful conflict between Divine and her boyfriend known as Mr.David – played by David Lochary.

The entire film has a home movie, Andy Warhol experimental flavor to it, which adds greatly and never distracts from its tone and style. Many scenes show shaky camera movement and the shadows of the cameraman and crew on the ground during the filmed scene. Actors often look as if they are hesitant to deliver their lines, or too rigid in their composure to improvise their lines.

Look carefully for cars driving by in the background in a scene where actor George Figgs as Jesus Christ blesses loaves of store-bought, wrapped bread and canned tuna on a plastic, folding picnic table. As his followers gorge themselves on tuna and bread, modern cars drive by in the distance. Does this distract from the film in any way? Heck no. This is guerrilla film making at its best.

Low-budget director Andy Milligan does something similar in his 1971 cult classic Guru The Mad Monk in which the sound of driving cars can be heard in a scene that is supposed to take place in the Middle Ages in front of a church. Milligan often shows power lines in the background of scenes in which the time period depicted is many centuries or decades before electricity and the Industrial Revolution.

Figgs as Christ carries a cross and wears a crown of thorns just before his crucifixion in one scene. These images are juxtaposed with scenes of Mink Stole masturbating Lady Divine's anus with a rosary in a church chapel. Never in the history of cinema up to that point had such perverse, blasphemous images been put up on the screen. Director Waters loves to smear this kind of stuff in the faces of his viewers, and never would he want to apologize for it. Can you blame him? All this becomes a precursor leading up to Divine's excrement eating scene in Waters' next film – Pink Flamingos (1972).

Perhaps the most bizarre scene is saved for the near ending of the film when a giant paper mache lobster, known as Lobstora, rapes and has sex with Lady Divine. Divine makes no attempt to free herself from the fake lobster, and appears to be enjoying the lobster sex as she laughs hysterically during the entire scene. As the lobster backs away, broken parts of it are shown on the couch in which the sex act took place. Lady Divine now becomes hysterical and goes on a rampage of destruction.

As an essay included in the Blu-Ray written by Linda Yablonsky states: “Multiple Maniacs is a monster movie for people who would rather watch a comedy.”

As a big fan of all of Waters' films, I've felt for many years that Pink Flamingos is Waters' greatest early film. After viewing this newly remastered Blu-Ray print from Criterion/Janus Films, I've now changed my mind. Multiple Maniacs is not to be missed. It is Waters' best early film. Happy viewing.

Steve’s five favorite John Waters films

By Steve D. Stones

Multiple Maniacs (1971) – The title of this black and white carny film is in reference to Herschell Gordon Lewis’ 1964 cult masterpiece – Two Thousand Maniacs. Cross dresser Divine leads a group of freak show artists who perform in a show known as “Lady Divine’s Cavalcade of Perversions.” The performers kill the audience members after each performance to pick their pockets. Watch carefully for the puke eater, a bike seat licker, and a giant paper mache lobster named Lobstora.  Divine’s masturbation scene with a rosary in a church tests the limits of good taste.

Pink Flamingos (1972) – Considering what Johnny Knoxville has achieved in the Jackass movies, Pink Flamingos may not have the over-the-top shock value that it once had upon its release. It remains Waters’ most discussed film. The film concerns the life of Babs Johnson, a transvestite living in a rundown trailer in Baltimore, played by frequent Waters actor – Divine. Babs lives with her traveling companion and son, and claims to be “The Filthiest Person Alive.” She proves it at the end of the film by eating a pile of dog pooh, causing viewers to throw up whatever they had for lunch that day. A print of Pink Flamingos is archived at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Female Trouble (1973) – Many Waters fans consider this to be a sequel to Pink Flamingos. Divine is cast once again – but this time as teenage drop out Dawn Davenport. Davenport leads the stereotypical, dysfunctional, white trash lifestyle. She gets pregnant while still in high school, runs away from home for not receiving a pair of cha-cha heels for Christmas, works a few dead end jobs, and eventually commits murder. She is executed in an electric chair, but feels no remorse for her life of crime. Female Trouble may be Waters’ comment on the media’s obsession of crime and serial killers.

Desperate Living (1977) – This film was made famous by a bizarre nude scene of busty Liz Renay when she was in her late 40s. Waters steps up the poor taste and graphic violence a few notches by showing a castration scene, and nude gay men servicing pleasantly plump Edith Massey – in the role of bitchy Queen Carlotta. Waters calls this film his “monstrous fairy tale.” Cheap wooden sets were built to give the impression of a fairy tale castle. It’s all good (but not clean) fun.

Serial Mom (1994) – Ever had a neighbor who appeared to be so perfect and squeaky clean that you swore they lived an “Ozzie & Harriet” lifestyle, but later discovered they had a few skeletons in the closet? If you have, then you can relate to this film. Kathleen Turner plays the picture perfect, June Cleaver mother who hates her neighbors and is driven to murder. Once again, Waters is out to make a social comment about the news media’s obsession with serial killers and high profile court cases of celebrities – even before the O.J. Simpson trials of 1995. Waters also pays tribute to one of his director heroes – Herschell Gordon Lewis – by showing a scene of Lewis’ 1964 gore hit “Blood Feast” on a TV screen.

Happy viewing!

Review: Pink Flamingos

Pink Flamingos: Directed in 1972 by John Waters, this film was a huge hit on the midnight movie circuit of the 1970s. The film concerns a transvestite mother named Divine who lives in a rundown trailer park outside of Baltimore, with her son Crackers and her mother Eddy "The Egg Lady," who lives in a child's playpen and eats raw eggs.

Divine's family call themselves "The Filthiest People Alive." Watching "Pink Flamingos" is like viewing an episode of "The Osbournes" on MTV. No matter what dysfunctional problems your family may have, "The Filthiest People Alive" have it much, much worse. This is a recurring theme in many of Waters' films, such as "Female Trouble," "Polyester" and "Serial Mom."
(Originally published in the Standard-Examiner)

-- Steve Stones