MULTIPLE MANIACS (1970)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia (Originally written in 2003)
I recently watched one of John Waters's first films, "Multiple Maniacs," and all I can say is: he may have bad taste but he sure is funny. "Multiple Maniacs" may be well my favorite John Waters film by far, a film that aims low and delivers high notes. It is a gross-out comedy but not in the same vein as today's equivalents, and it is certainly not as putrid as "Pink Flamingos." I sense Waters is having fun here without getting mired in tastelessness or mean-spiritedness.
The film stars Divine as herself, as she is the queen attraction of something called "The Calvacade of Perversions." These so-called perversions, which include two gay men kissing, a man known as the "puke eater" and other indecent acts, are introduced by Divine's boyfriend, the late David Lochary. He stands outside a tent overlooking suburbia with a microphone and invites people in these tents to see the perversions for free. All the people are shocked by what they see yet they can't stop looking (one even comments about a fat woman's hairy body). Divine is quite an attraction already, but she wants nothing more than to rob and kill people! She claims responsibility for Sharon Tate's death and for having scribbled the word "PIG" with her bloody fingers. David is understandably shocked since he has no memory of ever killing Sharon Tate.
The paper-thin plot has David having an affair with a wannabe blonde perversion named Bonnie (Mary Vivian Pearce). Meanwhile, Divine has a fling with a lesbian (Mink Stole) inside a church! Here is where we are privy to the "Rosary" sequence that is as revolting and sacrilegious as you can imagine. I do not have go into details but this is a scene that must be seen to be believed. When Divine catches wind of David's affair, she prepares to kill with utmost relish. And before the end of the film, we are treated for yet another infamous sequence involving Divine getting raped by a lobster!
Now then, how the heck can I recommend such garbage? Well, quite simple really. "Multiple Maniacs" is crude and irreverent and it knows it, and makes no apologies for it. I found this film funnier and more personal than "Pink Flamingos," and I think Waters lost his edge ever since this cult classic and "Flamingos." Today, Waters could scarcely do anything to offend or shock people unless he found something personal to say, albeit with the religious iconography of his upbringing and the late, great Divine. Other merits are the choice of rock and roll music on the soundtrack (including Elvis's "Jailhouse Rock"), and choice excerpts from Gustav Holst's "The Planets." Any film that ends with "God Bless America" while Divine preens and struts her stuff is worthwhile in my book. Divine is simply charming and suitably creepy at the same time. Kudos also go to Cookie, Divine's daughter (played by the late Cookie Mueller who walks around naked in her apartment) and her boyfriend who despises David (their conversations are hysterical).
What separates this mondo trash from other trash films of the period is its compassion. Waters is willing to listen to these perverts and see them as people, not as caricatures. Consider the scene where David is making love to Bonnie and discusses getting away from Divine. There is a touch of humanity here that makes it all worthwhile, and you actually feel sorry for David.
Yes, "Multiple Maniacs" is badly shot and composed with a horrendous number of overexposed shots. There are also numerous jump cuts and largely asynchronous sound (I think Waters was still learning how to edit). The film was shot for $5,000 in grainy stock black-and-white film, and it shows but so what. Jump cuts do not bother me, nor does asynchronous sound (both have become part of film grammar). What is most hilarious is seeing Divine parading around the town of Baltimore, carrying all her weight around and stepping into trouble every step of the way. Disgusting? Perverted? Yes, it is all those things. And damn funny too.
