Female Trouble

This 1974 feature by cult filmmaker and self-proclaimed "Pope of Trash" John Waters is a perverse satire of "good girl gone bad" drive-in melodramas, starring his longtime collaborator Divine (the screen name of the drag persona created by Harris Glenn Milstead) at her most gleefully outrageous. Divine plays teenage brat Dawn Davenport, a high school girl who runs away from home and into a life of wanton hedonism all because she didn’t get cha-cha heels for Christmas. During the course of the film she is molested by a sleazy motorcycle thug (also played by Divine), gives birth to an unwanted daughter (Mink Stole), variously works as a go-go dancer, cat burglar, and underground model, and turns herself into an unlikely fashion statement in an apocalyptic fashion show. Divine cuts loose in a wild, eye-rolling performance as a demented diva who locks her mother-in-law in a giant birdcage and massacres the opening night audience of her nightclub act. One of the most extreme films from a director famed for redefining the borders of bad taste, this aggressively offensive movie is presented with a 4K restoration from original 16mm elements in this Criterion edition that features extras including a 2004 audio commentary by Waters, new and archival cast and crew interviews, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, and an essay by film critic Ed Halter. A strong optional purchase for more adventurous collections. (S. Axmaker)