A Dirty Shame (2004)

An uptight, middle-aged, repressed woman turns into a sex addict after getting hit on the head, and she then falls into an underground subculture of sex addicts in suburban Baltimore.

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters

Stars:

Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tracey Ullman	...	Sylvia
Johnny Knoxville	...	Ray Ray
Selma Blair	...	Caprice
Chris Isaak	...	Vaughn
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Big Ethel
Mink Stole	...	Marge The Neuter
Patricia Hearst	...	Paige
Jackie Hoffman	...	Dora
Nick Noble	...	Weird Paperboy (as Nicholas E.I. Noble)
Lucy Newman-Williams	...	Neuter Yuppie Woman
Scott Morgan	...	Neuter Yuppie Man
Wes Johnson	...	Fat Fuck Frank
David A. Dunham	...	Mama Bear
David Moretti	...	Papa Bear (as Dave Moretti)
Jeffrey Auerbach	...	Baby Bear

Storyline

Middle-aged, sexually repressed Sylvia Stickles is the subject of this John Water's film, set in North Baltimore. She refuses to have sex with her husband, Vaughn Stickles, and keeps her overly-endowed daughter, Caprice, locked in her room, while she serves home detention for moral depravity charges. Sylvia, together with her mother Big Ethel, lead a group calling themselves "neuters" that promotes decency on Hartford Road. When Sylvia is accidentally hit on the head by a lawnmower hanging out of a passing pick-up truck, however, her sexual behavior is changed completely from prude to prostitute. She meets the sex addicted sexual healer Ray Ray Perkins, becoming his twelfth apostle of sex in a journey of pleasure and orgasm.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | sex addict | lust | exhibitionist | neuter | 

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Taglines:

Threatening the very limits of common decency.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong crude sexual content, including fetishes

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adictos al sexo

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$29,384 (USA) (17 September 2004)

Gross:

$1,339,668 (USA) (5 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fine Line Features, This Is That Productions, Killer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 84 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Giamatti was originally meant to play Vaughn Stickles, but dropped out to play in Sideways.

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Goofs

Before running out of gas, the car is turned off and in park but is still driving.

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Quotes

Marge the Neuter: It's not safe out! People are shaving their crotches as we speak. There is pubic hair in the air! Everywhere!

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Connections

Features Boom! (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Itchy Twitchy Spot"
Performed by Run C&W
Written by Don Von Tress (as Donald L. Von Tress)
Courtesy of MCA Nashville
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

The decline of John Waters.

Here comes "A Dirty Shame", John Waters' last hooliganism. It must be said: Waters is more a product of a specific time than a good cinema director. He was in the right place at the right moment to scandalize the so puritan American society of the 70's with movies such as "Pink Flmingos" or "Female Trouble" (most of them played by the unclassifiable Divine and a huge cast of freaks and outsiders). Disrespect, ugliness, a look worthy of the "do it yourself" punk slogan... A few movies that, in their own context, were so valuable, they broke taboos, they spit in the face of that society because the future was coming.

Well, now the future has come, and Waters left behind the amateur ways in order to make some brilliant pieces ("Cry Baby", "Serial Mom") that were more in the Hollywood style, much more according to the mainstream ways. With "A Dirty Shame" John seems to want to go back to his origins, to scandalize deep America's rednecks, the friends of the Rifle Association, the Mormons... In order to achieve that he's written a rather coarse story about an epidemic of sex-addiction somewhere in middle America, sort of a spicy version of the "Invasion of the Body snatchers". Rough humor, and a few laughing.

Main attractions? Well, we got the MTV-boy Johnny Knoxville and Tracey Ullman that were born to make comedies, and the exquisite taste of Mr. Waters for the music: "S Dirty Shame" has a soundtrack full of fantastic 50's music. In short: maybe with some wallpaper, a camera on the shoulder, and going 30 years back in time this product would make any sense. But we're in 2005, and the man who shot Divine eating canine feces has just made his worst film ever. Let's see if the next time John Waters does it better (I really hope so).

*My rate: 2.5/10