Tara's Indie Pick Flicks - Part 2

MayMon 2010 Filed in: Tara's Indie Pick Flicks

A Dirty Shame

Directed by: John Waters
Starring: Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair and Chris Isaak
Now playing: Out on DVD

Sylvia Stickles (Ullman) is a typical suburban middle-aged woman. Sexually repressed, bored and uptight all around, she fends off advances from her husband (Isaak) and keeps her ridiculously bodacious daughter (Blair) locked in a room. Things change for Sylvia when she receives a concussion from a passing car and is helped by the charismatic Ray Ray Perkins (Knoxville). The head injury, it seems, knocks something loose inside of her, causing her to not only want, but also actually enjoy sex. A lot. Ray Ray assures Sylvia that her newfound sexual freedom is the right path, complete with a support group of fellow sexual freedom seekers. Unfortunately, in middle class Harford Road, there is another movement brewing, led by Sylvia’s own mother, Big Ethel. Horrified by the changes they see in their once bland community (“Used to be Harford Road was for families. Now it’s a lesbian aorta!&rdquo

The Neuters are out to squash any and all expressions of sexuality. Will Sylvia and Ray Ray show The Neuters the light? Or will The Neuters succeed in spaying the entire town?

What I love about A Dirty Shame is that no one is spared. John Waters shines a light and pokes fun at everyone: straights, gays, liberals, conservatives, not to mention every fetish known under the sun (adult babies, anyone?). And he does so with a finely honed, brave wit. This film is pretty raunchy, it’s true. We are talking about John Waters here. But it is also funny and relevant. Worth a trip to the video store or putting on your Netflix queue. If you’re into that kind of thing.