{"id":40722,"date":"2018-08-25T21:54:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-26T04:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40722"},"modified":"2022-01-27T01:01:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T08:01:01","slug":"polyester-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40722","title":{"rendered":"Polyester (1981)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;This whole world stinks, Francine, so get used to it!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Poster-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-40724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Poster-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Poster.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a put-upon housewife (Divine) with an abusive mother (Joni Ruth White) learns that her sleazy husband (David Samson) has been cheating on her with his secretary (Mink Stole); that her drug-addicted son (Ken King) is the notorious Baltimore Foot Stomper; and that her teenage daughter (Mary Garlington) has become pregnant by her good-for-nothing boyfriend (Stiv Bators), she&#8217;s not sure how much more she can handle. Will her good friend Cuddles (Edith Massey) and a mysterious handsome stranger (Tab Hunter) help turn her life around?\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>Black Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Family Problems<\/li>\n<li>Housewives<\/li>\n<li>Infidelity<\/li>\n<li>John Waters Films<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Tab Hunter Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;disappointing John Waters comedy&#8221; was &#8220;filmed on 35mm on a much bigger budget than his midnight-movie classics&#8221;, and that perhaps due to &#8220;catering to a broader audience instead of shocking it, [the] film is a step backward on the outrageous scale&#8221; (it was Waters&#8217;s first R-rated film). He notes that &#8220;the scenes with all Waters&#8217;s regulars don&#8217;t have the spontaneity present in the earlier films &#8212; in fact, they seem to be showcase scenes meant to familiarize the new Waters viewers with the Waters style they&#8217;d heard about&#8221;; but &#8220;for veteran Waters fans, most of these scenes are [simply] watered-down versions of classic Waters scenes.&#8221; He concedes that &#8220;at least the reliable Divine gives a standout performance as harried, dissatisfied suburban housewife Francine Fishpaw&#8221; (that name!), but complains that &#8220;the dialogue by Waters is disappointing &#8212; more laughter comes from just paying attention to the props in Francine&#8217;s house and the film&#8217;s unbelievable wardrobe&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m more or less in agreement with Peary&#8217;s assessment, which highlights the trajectory Waters&#8217;s films would take from then on: <em>Hairspray<\/em> (1988) &#8212; featuring Divine in his final performance before his premature death at the age of 42 &#8212; was made into a Tony-winning Broadway musical (which was then turned into a film of the musical based on the film&#8230;); <em>Cry-Baby<\/em> (1990) starred big-name Johnny Depp and was likewise turned into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical; and then &#8212; thankfully &#8212; <em>Serial Mom<\/em> (1994) became Waters&#8217;s most deliciously mainstream yet subversive film of his later career. <\/p>\n<p><em>Polyester<\/em> is most notable for its satirical send-up of Sirkian &#8220;women&#8217;s pictures&#8221;, and for its homage to William Castle by featuring &#8220;Odorama&#8221;, with the following scratch and sniff smells available to audience members: 1. Roses, 2. Flatulence, 3. Model Airplane Glue, 4. Pizza, 5. Gasoline, 6. Skunk, 7. Natural Gas, 8. New Car Smell, 9. Dirty Shoes, and 10. Air Freshener.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Divine as Francine Fishpaw<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Divine.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Divine.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Divine.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Divine-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Divine-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Many typically OTT Waters sequences<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Creepy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Creepy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Creepy.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Creepy-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Polyester-Creepy-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s worth a one-time viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0082926\/\">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.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=4298&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1981\/05\/29\/movies\/polyester-an-offbeat-comedy.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;This whole world stinks, Francine, so get used to it!&#8221; Synopsis: When a put-upon housewife (Divine) with an abusive mother (Joni Ruth White) learns that her sleazy husband (David Samson) has been cheating on her with his secretary (Mink Stole); that her drug-addicted son (Ken King) is the notorious Baltimore Foot Stomper; and that her teenage daughter (Mary Garlington) has become pregnant by her good-for-nothing boyfriend (Stiv Bators), she&#8217;s not sure how much more she can handle. Will her good&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40722\"> 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-40722","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\/40722","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=40722"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80701,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40722\/revisions\/80701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}