Hairspray/Pecker; Polyester/Desperate Living

New Line toasts (roasts?) Baltimore's second favorite film son (after Barry Levinson) in these two very generous John Waters double-features, boasting individual film commentaries by the camp master himself. In the first set, the unforgivably awful Desperate Living (1977) follows emotionally frayed upper middle class housewife Muffy St. Jacques (Liz Renay) and her maid Peggy Gravel (the infamous Mink Stole) as they travel through a Looking Glass world of depravity after offing Muffy's hubby. And, in the more measurably awful Polyester (1981) (which, according to Dr. Arnold Quackenshaw in the film's preface, is presented in "Odor-rama"), staple Waters' thesp Divine plays another overwrought housewife, Francine Fishpaw, who is rescued from her adulterous porn magnate of a husband by "art house" drive-in owner Todd Tomorrow (a strong stomached Tab Hunter). Had enough yet? No?! Well, the second two-fer kicks off with the cameo happy Hairspray (1988), arguably Waters most beloved film, in which the big-haired and pleasingly plump jitterbugger Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) battles both racial and caloric prejudices to become the teen queen of Baltimore's Corny Collins' dance revue, while in the genuinely sweet Pecker (1998), easily Waters most accessible film to date, sub shop working amateur shutter-bugger Pecker (Edward Furlong) gets his fifteen minutes when snapshots of his culturally dysfunctional family temporarily set the art world abuzz. While I am admittedly not a fan of his work, there is something about John Waters, or at least the "idea" of John Waters, that even I find impossible to resist. Perhaps it's his ebullient personality, which shines through in all four of the director's wonderful commentaries on the discs (which are more entertaining than the films themselves). Or perhaps it's the maniacal glee with which he thumbs his nose at everything society holds dear. Or maybe it's just that if John Waters hadn't made these films, no one else would. (Proving with one fell swoop that there is a God, and that he has very likely abandoned Baltimore.) Thus, despite their weak star ratings, these admittedly popular films (albeit with a bizarre audience) earn themselves a strong optional purchase, particularly the Hairspray/Pecker combo. [Note: Water's most (in)famous film, Pink Flamingos, accompanied by Female Trouble, makes its DVD bow in another New Line double feature on Oct. 2.] (S. C. Sickles) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Sept. 24, 2019—Criterion, 86 min., R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1981’s Polyester features a great transfer with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by director John Waters, a new conversation between Waters and critic Michael Musto (38 min.), and 1993 'Dreamland Memories' interviews featuring casting director Pat Moran, costume designer Van Smith, art director Vincent Peranio, and costar Tab Hunter (23 min.). Also included here are deleted scenes and alternate takes (20 min.), 'Sniffing Out Polyester' interview outtakes from the 2014 documentary I Am Divine (14 min.), the 1981 TV segment 'John Waters in Charm City' (8 min.), a 1981 interview with Waters and star Divine on 'Tomorrow with Tom Snyder' (7 min.), an 'Edith: Queen of Fells Point' 1978 profile of Dreamlander costar Edith Massey (6 min.), 'Odorama with John' (4 min.), 'People Are Talking' (4 min.), and the brief 'No Smoking in This Theater,' plus an essay by film scholar Elena Gorfinkel, a foldout poster of the cover, and a scratch-and-sniff Odorama card. Bottom line: an impressive extras package that is better than the film itself.]