Polyester (1981)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters (writer)

Release Date:

29 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Filmed in ODORAMA

Plot:

A suburban housewife's world falls apart when her pornographer husband admits he's serially unfaithful to her, her daughter gets pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.

Plot Keywords:

Porno Theater | Abortion | Middle Class | Foot Fetish | Pregnancy

Cast

Divine	...	Francine Fishpaw
Tab Hunter	...	Todd Tomorrow
Edith Massey	...	Cuddles Kovinsky
David Samson	...	Elmer Fishpaw
Mary Garlington	...	Lu-Lu Fishpaw
Ken King	...	Dexter Fishpaw
Mink Stole	...	Sandra Sullivan
Joni Ruth White	...	La Rue
Hans Kramm	...	Heintz
Stiv Bators	...	Bo-Bo Belsinger
Rick Breitenfeld	...	Dr. Quackenshaw
Michael Watson	...	Freddy Ashton
Derek Neal	...	Pimp
Jean Hill	...	Gospel Bus Hijacker
Jim Hill	...	Picket Reporter

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:18A (Ontario) | UK:15 (re-rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (re-rating) (1990) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Greenmount Avenue at 33rd Street, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The "Scents" on the Odorama card were as follows: 1. Roses 2. Flatulence 3. Model Airplane Glue 4. Pizza 5. Gasoline 6. Skunk 7. Natural Gas 8. New Car Smell 9. Dirty Shoes 10. Air Freshener

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Dexter's principal calls Francine, Francine starts acting as if he's hung up on her before he's even said goodbye.

Quotes:

Francine Fishpaw: Oh Cuddles, you're too *old* to be a debutante!

Movie Connections:

References The Young One (1960)

Soundtrack:

THE BEST THING

Stiv Lives!

I remember seeing this the night it came out (God, was it really 22 years ago!). We all went down to a late night showing at the Cedar on the West Bank in Mpls., with about 4 hours worth of "feelgood" in us.

I was familiar with Waters' work, having seen PINK FLAMINGOS, and was ready for the "Odorama" cards handed out when you bought your ticket, but my "associates" were a bit mystified. It all led up to a very different & unique experience, which really hasn't been equaled since.

Basically, there were about 10 (numbered 1-10) scratch-n-sniff scents which were to be activated by you from the card when a flashing number appeared on the screen. They included a rotten egg smell for flatulence (somebody broke wind in the movie), along with a natural gas smell when a character stuck their head in an oven, among others. You get the idea. Anyway, it had the usual John Waters' cast of characters (Mink, Edith, Divine, etc.), along with the late, great Stiv Bators making his big-screen debut as (what else), a delinquent. Stiv pulls it off quite well, and everything else pretty much amounted to a fun show-going experience.

Not nearly as shocking as FLAMINGOS or FEMALE TROUBLE, but surely rent it if your into that sort of thing (a/k/a the pre-HAIRSPRAY Waters). I'm sure those "Odorama" cards are long gone, so you'll have to get creative on your own to replicate the experience that was "Odorama".