Trouble
One of the things you do with a new love is watch movies dear to you. It’s one of those personal experiences you share. I started out with Titanic, the one with Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. How I love that movie; I grew up wanting to be Clifton Webb and ended up becoming Barbara Stanwyk. We got nowhere near the end of my list, but we got to watch,
Titanic
Auntie Mame
Rear Window
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane
Sunset Boulevard
The Manchurian Candidate
Rent
And many others. Those are the best.
One remarkable failure was John Waters’ Desperate Living. Funny; so many of us grew up worshipping Waters’ slamming of middle class America. Who couldn’t adore Mink Stole’s nervous breakdown where she shouts out the window, “Don’t tell ME I don’t know what Vietnam was like!”
Well, foreigners can’t; they can’t tolerate any of it. Waters doesn’t translate very well to foreigners. Now I wonder why we love Bad Taste. Bright people adore kitsch and embrace camp. Bad Taste is just a rarified version of those, but what a bad reflection it becomes when we find ourselves laughing at stained panties from Bloomindales.
Word to the wise: Don’t show any snooty Argentine a movie glorifying White Trash and not expect to suffer the consequences. Let’s keep these movies to ourselves, like a secret handshake.
Still, who doesn’t love a girl who kills her mother on Christmas morning because she didn’t get the “Cha-Cha” heels she wanted?
posted by Alexis du Bois @ 1:14 PM
9 Comments:
Juust one thing my dear Astor...
If you ever moun the phrase: "eat it Peggy, eat it!" during one of our intimate moments again I swer I´ll bite... and throw your John Waters collection to the everglades right afterwards.
Oh, Mrs. A, TELL me you didn't do that!
I eagerly await the Argentine response to Valley of the Dolls ...
I would have thought that with all of that fake hair our Argentine rose would have understood a great deal about most John Waters' movies.
I've found that Waters' movies don't translate well for non americans either, though it IS funny to watch the expressions of open-mouthed horror develop as the movie progresses.
Serra, do you REALLY think I would be so vulgar? Ian loves to make things up.
Ray, I didn't think of that one; good idea.
Mikevil, you'd think, right?
Mike, I think the question after the look of horror was, "HOW can you think this is funny?"
try watching a Pink Panther movie in German.... Ian has my sympathies.... And by the way, please pull the shades in the future when indulging in a Waters-athon.
HAHA I think Grizelda actually says "Get it" at that point, and I can't blame Ian for being grossed out even after all these years I look away for a bit on that scene.
I think Queen Carlotta getting serviced is much more enjoyable. And shame on you for introducing him to John Waters with Desperate Living, I would have begun with something a little cleaner like Polyester (check out my April 22nd tribute to John's birthday with the Edith Massey clips.
here's a link to my John Waters post..
http://dryfreelean.blogspot.com/2006/04/john-waters.html
:)
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