A Dirty Shame

Tracey Ullman is so perfectly attuned to John Waters' brand of lasciviously trashy comedy, it's a wonder that she hasn't worked before for the shamelessly silly provocateur. In the uproarious A Dirty Shame, the writer-director lets the caustic comedienne cut loose as Sylvia Stickles, a frigid, uptight working-class suburbanite who becomes an insatiable sex maniac after getting bonked on the noggin in a car accident. Shocking her hitherto frustrated husband (Chris Isaak) with tongue-wiggling come-ons and liberating her trampy stripper daughter (ironically bimbo-ish Selma Blair) from her padlocked ("for her own good") bedroom, Sylvia joins other concussion-born libertines as a disciple of a self-proclaimed sexual evangelist (amusingly uncouth Johnny Knoxville). All of this helps set the stage for an absurdist battle against a band of spitefully self-righteous local prudes for the soul of their Baltimore neighborhood. As with all Waters' tongue-in-cheek (and other places) flicks, the story is somewhat undercooked, and histrionics are the order of the day. But the laughs are relentless, and Waters' ultimate joke is on all of us because there's something here to fluster just about everyone (although the NC-17 rating is undeserved; the R-rated American Pie movies are easily more graphic and at least as raunchy). Recommended. [Note: Available in either an NC-17 or R-rated version, DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one with director John Waters; the other with various cast and crew members), the 82-minute behind-the-scenes documentary “All the Dirt on A Dirty Shame,” a brief deleted scene, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a sick and funny flick.] (R. Blackwelder)