A housewife and her housekeeper commit murder and escape to the fascist enclave of Mortville in John Waters’s 1977 trash epic Desperate Living, now on 4k UHD & Blu-Ray via Criterion.
Heck, yes. I love having more John Waters on Criterion, following Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, and Polyester (so underappreciated). Desperate Living and Hairspray enter the collection the same day, a double dose of the Pope of Filth is awesome!
Desperate Living is John Waters’ 1977 film, and works in the same way as many of the pre-Polyester films: a winky exploration of those living in loving the disgusting filth at the edge of society. Here, Waters has Peggy Gravel, a housewife having a mental breakdown and murdering her husband with the help of the housekeeper Grizelda (domestic breakdown in a Waters movie? Never!). After a run-in with a perverted policeman, they find themselves in Mortville, a commune of criminals in the woods. Led by Queen Carlotta, a despotic fascist queen, they find a new life in town with their landlords, Mole McHenry and her wife, Muffy St James, deal with the queen, meet the princess, nudists, and the wonderful ugliness of a new life.
As is the case, Waters creates a wild world of weirdos, joyously jumping into the depravity with iconic and interesting characters and caricatures. Desperate Living is a wonderful twisted fairy tale, as only Waters can do. Every moment is engaging, with a solid story of pushing back in queer rebellion. Everyone works fantastically, as it’s clear how well Waters has grown as a director in gaining the best balance of his sensibilities with filmmaking technique (that would continue with Polyester and Hairspray,, taking steps to as close to the mainstream as Waters wants to get). Often lost in the early Waters oeuvre, possibly due to missing Divine or the last fully of the old guard, it deserves to be seen and talked about just as much.
John Waters gets the best from his cast, mostly his troupe with a few new faces (and the rest of their bodies). Mink Stole is hilarious with her hysterical heaving hysterics as the high-strung housewife, chomping her teeth into the over-the-top in the way that she knows best. This was the last of the purposely overforced performances for Waters, and Stole does it so well; on top is a good place to stop. Edith Massey hams it up as the evil queen, and I loved Mary Vivian Pearce as Princess Coo Coo. Special shout-out to Jean Hill as Grizelda, eating it all up. Sorry, Desperate Living has no Divine. He was working on a play, so his part of Mole went to Susan Lowe. Luckily, she is great, sneering and sleazy. While written for Divine, she makes it all her own, with no sign of filling in for the bigger-than-life Water’s muse. And finally, Liz Renay absolutely slays. It’s too bad she only had this single go with Waters because she fits exceedingly well with her robust (pun intended) performance, in a sort of mirror universe Marilyn Monroe sort of way.
Desperate Living is another Waters trashterpiece. With spirited performances and all in on the bonkers world of Mortfville and a fairy tale anti-fascist plot, it has a lot going on, and it rocks. Damn, I love this movie.
The Packaging
Criterion puts Desperate Living on 4k & Blu-ray discs, overlapped on the right side of the small clear case (also available in just Blu-ray). Both discs cleverly feature the rat plate of the cover as the disc art. The sleeve features the opening credit “rat on a plate” dinner set up for the front cover, and an image of a screaming Liz Renay on the other. The fold-out booklet fits on the other side of the interior. Spine number # 1316
The Presentation
Has filth ever looked so good? As they did so for the other Waters films, the 4k restoration, supervised by John Waters, looks amazing. Luckily, in making a detailed, clear 4k, the inherent sleaze and cheapness of the original production aren’t lost. Can’t make it look TOO good or we lose the atmosphere. But they find that balance. Yum! The same goes for the audio; the unique sounds of early Waters remain, but with a great soundscape in the mono. English subtitles. In English, but it does offer an Italian Dub. Also features animated menus.
The Features
Criterion puts both new and archival features. The 4k has the film and commentary. The Blu-ray has both of those plus the other features.
Commentary (2004 on the disc, 2001 credited in film)
John Waters and Liz Renay give a very fun track. I do believe they are separate. Waters is as forthcoming and a fun, funny, and amazing storyteller as always (see his yearly Christmas show). Renay is having a ton of fun as well, glibly running through the film, talking about her experiences and life story.
Straight to Hell (new)
Waters talks with Cristina Capioppo in a great talk. As noted elsewhere, Waters is always a welcoming interview, friendly and charming, and ready to tell jokes, spin stories, and just be a great guy. His recollections of the film, its stars, and his career is renowned across the board, especially so in this interview. (28m)
Return to Mortville (New)
Waters returns to the farm where his shantytown was created. Very fun stories of the people who lived there then (pot barn!) and talking to the current owners and their connection to Waters. (13m)
Peggy, Mole, and Princess Coo Coo (new)
Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, and Mary Vivian Pierce converse over stills and clips of the film. Like Waters, I can hear them talk all day with their deep history in cult film. (18m)
Vincent Peranio (archival)
Peranio talks about the set designs and how they built up Mortville. (8m)
Booklet
The 12-panel fold-out booklet has cast/crew/set-photos on one side and an essay on the other. “Mortville in Revolt” by Grace Byron is a loving appreciation of the film, Waters becoming mainstream, along with talking about how it and Waters talk about trans.
Final Thoughts
John Waters’s Desperate Living is more great-tasting trash from the Pope of Filth. A great transfer (but still keeping the look of the film) plus a nice supplement of features makes this a great pick-up for your Criterion Collection, along with Hairspray (review soon) for a double dose of Waters.