Suma Trashalogical
After getting things started early with our Independence Day episode on Drop Dead Gorgeous, we went full camp last week with modern entry Nurse 3D (2013). This week, Trace and I are traveling back to the 70s for a classic: John Waters‘ 1974 film Female Trouble (It may seem like an unorthodox pick, but there’s enough gross, horrible, heinous content in Waters’ notorious “bad taste” films to merit coverage!)
Female Trouble is divided into several chapters that document the life of Dawn Davenport (Divine). The film begins with Dawn as a disinterested, petulant teen who becomes an unwed mother and petty thug before she evolves into a fashion icon and deranged criminal.
After her marriage to hair stylist Gater falls apart, Dawn is seduced by the fame and fortune of wealthy artists – and hair salon owners – Donald and Donna Dasher (David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pearce), much to the chagrin of Dawn’s teen daughter Taffy (Mink Stole).
Will Dawn find the celebrity she so desperately covets or will her unorthodox desires lead her down a dark path to incarceration and even death?
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Episode 186 – Female Trouble (1974) feat. Andy Scahill
The Summer of Camp rolls on as Professor Andy Scahill returns to discuss our very first John Waters film, Female Trouble (1974). This is a great introduction to Waters, the Dreamlanders and Divine in a film that defines bad taste and trash.
Come for the discussion on why Christmas is hard on queers, our love of Mink Stole and how the film evokes Waters’ counter culture approach to indie filmmaking. Are you offended? Good!
Cross out Female Trouble!
Coming up on Wednesday: Our second last Camp series entry keeps us in the 70s, but we’re headed to Europe for Paul Morrissey’s notorious 1974 film, Flesh for Frankenstein (1974)! C/W: necrophilia and rape.
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for more than 188 hours of additional content! This month, we’re discussing our favorite horror film-to-TV show flip-floppers, and looking back at popular alien films Signs and Attack the Block before we close out the month with Jordan Peele’s Nope. Oh, and we’ve got an audio commentary on the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie!