{"id":40648,"date":"2018-08-25T15:47:05","date_gmt":"2018-08-25T22:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40648"},"modified":"2021-01-24T18:27:43","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T01:27:43","slug":"desperate-living-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40648","title":{"rendered":"Desperate Living (1977)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Look around you &#8212; it&#8217;s a village of idiots!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-40649\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-82x128.jpg 82w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA neurotic housewife (Mink Stole) murders her husband (George Stover) and runs away with her housemaid (Jean Hill) to a shantytown named Mortville, where evil Queen Carlotta (Edith Massey) rules with an iron fist. They rent a room from a transgendered wrestler (Susan Lowe) seeking a sex-change operation in an attempt to please her lover (Liz Renay), and soon become involved in hiding Princess Coo-Coo (Mary Vivian Pearce), whose love affair with a nudist garbage collector (George Figgs) infuriates her mother (Massey). After Stole decides to join forces with Massey, true chaos and revolution erupt in Mortville.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>John Waters Films<\/li>\n<li>Lesbianism<\/li>\n<li>Revolutionaries<\/li>\n<li>Royalty and Nobility<\/li>\n<li>Ruthless Leaders<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;although Divine isn&#8217;t in this John Waters classic, it is still Waters&#8217;s best film, one that he described in his book <em>Shock Value<\/em> as &#8216;a lesbian melodrama about revolution&#8230; a monstrous fairy-tale comedy dealing with mental anguish, penis envy, and political corruption&#8217;, [targeted at] &#8216;very neurotic adults with the mentalities of eight-year-olds&#8217;.&#8221; Peary asserts that &#8220;Divine isn&#8217;t needed because the film is filled with comparable whiners, screamers, grotesque &#8216;beauties&#8217;, conceited fascistic dames, and perverts.&#8221; He notes that while the &#8220;picture is about 20 minutes too long&#8221;, it &#8220;has the most comprehensive storyline of any Waters film and, considering there are several subplots, [it] is his most ambitious work&#8221; and features &#8220;the best acting, direction, and script&#8221;. He reminds us that &#8220;like all Waters&#8217;s films, it is filled with repulsive imagery&#8221;; as described in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/review\/1010\">James Kendrick&#8217;s Q review<\/a>: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is typical of Waters&#8217; movies that they inspire one to list all the offensive and grotesque things that happen in them, and <em>Desperate Living<\/em> is no different: cannibalism, rabies, road kill, a baby stuck in a refrigerator, a sex-change operation, self-castration with a pair of scissors, an eyeball gouged out with a high-heel shoe, the eating of roaches, and death by being smothered in a bowl of dog food.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Despite this considerable list of grotesquerie, Peary argues that &#8220;for once [Waters] goes no further than <em>borderline offensive<\/em>.&#8221; He concludes his review by noting that &#8220;this is probably the best, though by no means a safe, introduction to Waters&#8221;. I believe film fanatics will likely want to start with <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40587\"><em>Pink Flamingos<\/em> (1972)<\/a> and proceed cautiously from there; but I&#8217;ll begrudgingly admit to finding this flick &#8212; while predictably repulsive &#8212; surprisingly innovative and memorable. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Colorful, inventive sets and costumes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Sets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Sets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40653\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Sets.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Sets-128x86.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Sets-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Costume.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Costume.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40652\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Costume.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Costume-128x86.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Costume-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Mink Stole as Peggy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Stole.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Stole.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40651\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Stole.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Stole-128x86.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Desperate-Living-Stole-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as perhaps Waters&#8217; most visually and narratively innovative film &#8212; though naturally, it&#8217;s not for all tastes.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0075936\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/review\/1010\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinematicthreads.com\/review.php?id=1170&#038;ltr=D\">Cinematic Threads Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=7261&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Look around you &#8212; it&#8217;s a village of idiots!&#8221; Synopsis: A neurotic housewife (Mink Stole) murders her husband (George Stover) and runs away with her housemaid (Jean Hill) to a shantytown named Mortville, where evil Queen Carlotta (Edith Massey) rules with an iron fist. They rent a room from a transgendered wrestler (Susan Lowe) seeking a sex-change operation in an attempt to please her lover (Liz Renay), and soon become involved in hiding Princess Coo-Coo (Mary Vivian Pearce), whose love&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40648\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40648"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65718,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40648\/revisions\/65718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}