John Waters has compiled a Christmas album. I want it.
I didn't see A Dirty Shame in the theaters, which I feel a bit bad about. But I do really like the fact that John Waters has become something of a media entity, being in movies and TV shows, in addition to having that little musical of his. He gives some of the best interviews around; anymore, his interviews tend to be more amusing than his movies. Don't tell him I said so, please! He's sort of a throw back to the sort of gay stereotype before Stonewall, and before the rise of the Clones in the 70s and 80s and 90s; he's amusing, urbane, and educated, and well aware of the power of a witty bon mot. (The Clones tend to be a lot less cerebral, and a lot less fun, aside from the purely physical; they tend to mistake bitchiness for wit, and nastiness for cleverness. I might write about that another time; I have Pretty Definite Opinions. [As if you care.]) He also understands that campiness isn't simply about irony and mockery; camp is rooted in genuine affection, and is about being able to see both the absurdity of something, and the -- beauty is perhaps a stronger word than I intend... Merit? Anyways, John Waters' continued media presence almost makes up for the fact that Jessica Simpson hasn't been completely forgotten yet. Although nothing can make up for the 13 second of her and Whatshisname's Christmas special that I accidentally watched as I rushed from the room after Lost.
For those of you that haven't read it, I highly recommend John Water' Shock Value: it is funny, and oddly touching, and gives a good impression of his background and all that, as well as descriptions of his early, elusive films. Crackpot is also very amusing, but it is more spotty; it compiles articles Waters wrote for a variety of magazines, and some of them amount to little more than mildly entertaining filler. Although he does admit to being a fan of Woody Allen's serious movies, and he insists that it's not ironic. It also includes an article about The Buddy Dean Show, the inspiration for Hairspray, which he mentions in Shock Value, as well.
The day will come when John Waters will be on a U.S. Stamp. On that day, I will truly be proud to be an American!
(The Divine stamp is just too much to even wish for.)
3 comments:
Oh my hell! How scary was that Jessica "straight from the horses mouth" Simpson egg nog skit? I also saw about 30 seconds of the skit before I flipped over to watch Lost. Speaking of which......oh my hell! Did Sawyer really call Hurley "Stay Puff"? ROFL. What a show.
And Hairspray? Love it. Must have watched that movie a 1000 times in college. We'd come home from the clubs and pop that video in and laugh, and laugh.....
;-)
Last thing I saw was Jessica singing with a husband that People Magazine's cover said that she had split up with. Or from. I saw it at the drug store a couple weeks ago. When it came on, I just started singing Salt 'n' Pepa's "Push it" to myself quietly as I scurried out of listening range.
I'm annoyed because Gilmore Girls was preempted by some stoopid Pistons game this week. And there wasn't even a brawl this week!
My favorite John Waters film is actually Multiple Maniacs. That's 'coz I'm a coin-ay-soor. It has that early sense of delighting in surreal vulgarity, and the first glimpses of the sublime filth of Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. But it also has The Infant of Prague, and Divine being raped by a giant lobster. Not in the same scene, though.
Oh, and Hurley is currently my little viewing group's favorite character, probably because he seems to be the most down-to-earth, and appears not to be carrying too much excess baggage... emotionally, at least. Hard to really picture him trying to flee the mob or being framed for a crime he didn't commit. Which means he probably will be, at some point. We all have our crushes amidst the cast members (2 for Sayid [sic], 4 for Jack, 1 for Sawyer, 3 for the ex-Hobbit who's character name escapes me... we each voted multiple times), but we're all rooting for Hurley. Which is a bit odd to me, in a good way.
And yup, Sawyer surely did call him Stay Puff.
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