Pink Flamingos

1972 "An exercise in poor taste"
6| 1h33m| NC-17| en| More Info
Released: 17 March 1972 Released
Producted By: New Line Cinema
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".

Genre

Comedy, Crime

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Director

John Waters

Production Companies

New Line Cinema

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Pink Flamingos Audience Reviews

KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?
Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
jessikanc86 This film is filled with the most vile things You can ever imagine so needless to say it is a masterpiece and a one of a kind film!!
Uatu the movie watcher I used a spoiler warning just to play it safe, but there's really nothing to spoil. "Pink Flamingos" Is about two people competing to be the most vile creature on the planet...that's it. That's pretty much all this movie contains of what is technically defined as a plot.If you want to watch a mentally ill transsexual eat canine excrement (Oh and fun fact, it wasn't a prop either. The "actor" actually chewed on real dog faeces). Or if you're in the mood for seeing a chicken get squashed to death between two people having intercourse (And once again it wasn't a prop, the actors squashed a real chicken to death). Then this movie is exactly what you're looking for. But if you're a mentally stable individual with an average or above average IQ. I can't think of any reason why you'd enjoy it. Now don't get me wrong, my criticism of "Pink Flamingos" isn't that it contains obscenities. I have frequently praised movies which are much more obscene and disturbing than this. "Martyrs", "Oldboy", "Freaks", "Antichrist", "Eraserhead", just to name a few. The difference is that the obscenities in those movies serve an intelligent well crafted plot with a meaningful philosophical or poetic message, while "Pink Flamingos" is just vile for the sake of being vile. I give "Pink Flamingos" a 1/10, I can't think of a single redeeming quality of this movie. It is completely unwatchable. The fact that it's considered a "cult classic" is just an indication of the sick society we're living in. And I'm especially surprised that this movie is so popular among members of the LGBT community. Surely Harris Glenn Milstead's portrayal of a gross mentally ill guy in a dress is exactly the kind of image the LGBT community doesn't want to have? If "Divine" is the media image of a transsexual which you're going to promote and popularize, then you can't blame people for having prejudices about transsexuals.
guanche Sort of a cinematic Zap comic. Probably the most disgusting movie one will ever see, but also one of the funniest. The apogee of sick dark humor. Despite the low budget and semi or unprofessional actors (except Divine and Mink Stole) it's surprisingly well acted and scripted. It even has a coherent plot about a war between the Divine clan---"The Notorious Babs Johnson (Divine), her traveling companion Cotton, her delinquent son Crackers, and her mentally ill mother Miss Edie"--- and a sleazy Gothic/pseudo-hippie couple, Raymond and Connie Marble--- who; in addition to peddling smack in schoolyards; kidnap and imprison hitchhiking hippie chicks who are then raped by their butler to produce babies for sale to lesbian couples. His indirect method (graphically depicted) of masturbating into a syringe and injecting the semen into the women's vaginas is cut from some prints. The Marbles are furious that National Enquirer affected their "social standing" by declaring Divine "The Filthiest Person In The World", a title they believe they own. Raymond even shoots up some dope for the camera to put a point on it.The film is rife with graphic, perversely comical sex and violence, as well as some truly stomach turning scatology. Except perhaps for really twisted minds, there's nothing sexually stimulating here---just revulsion and deranged hilarity. A scene where Divine fellates "her" "son" is also cut from some prints. If anything, this material will put most people off of sex for quite a while. There are a few scenes--- one in particular---that are truly revolting. I say in all seriousness that those with weak stomachs should probably avoid this film. I know a couple of people who were actually traumatized in this regard (I'm not joking) and even decades later get nauseous at the mere mention of the title or the star. A definite must for adventurous filmies willing to brave some of the worst gross out images imaginable in exchange for a raucously funny, way off beat cinematic experience. Those unwilling to do so should stay away!
sashank_kini-1 Pink Flamingos – The Movie is a rare bird which not only makes trash enjoyable but also a good film. Just a single clip of trashy reality TV shows Jerry Springer or The Maury Show on YouTube and what we witness is nonstop display of vulgarity, sleaze and uncontrollable behavior. On the other hand, we have a plethora of terrible films like The Room, the entire Friday the Thirteenth series, Caligula etc that are unintentionally hilarious but all in all unwatchable. Pink Flamingos is a sure shot delight for the voyeurs of violence, sex, deviance, coarseness and trash, albeit one that is made with uncanny expertise. John Walters is the small-scale Quentin Tarantino who can conjure unique, quirky characters and make them cult figures; we are not perturbed by the characters' wrongdoings and we usually end up rooting for them to commit another misdeed.The story here is narrated in an androgynous manner, probably by a flaming gay man or a transsexual, who takes us into the pink, tawdry and shabby trailer of Divine (who is living as Babs Johnson to evade police attention) and her family- her pretty, lusty blonde traveling companion Cotton who possesses the looks of a yesteryear's' star, her bucktoothed, long-maned chicken loving son Crackers and her egg obsessed cutie-pie mother Edie. Divine has long remained the undisputed 'filthiest person on the planet', unbeaten, unchallenged by anyone and is a small-time cult figure who makes it into shoddy newspapers. She is settled now, and does no harm to others other that warming beef between her legs to save on money. Her son seems more wayward at first, but only in sex (chickens are his favorite partners, it seems). Cotton exhibits only voyeuristic tendencies and likes to hang posters of beefy men next to her bed – but that seems acceptable. And sweet Edie only thinks and talks about eggs, their shape, size and color, Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme, what happens if all the chickens disappear?, when will the egg-man arrive etc. No one seems to transgress modesty to an unlawful extent except perhaps Crackers. But all this changes when the team is challenged by Raymond and Bonnie Marble, a husband-wife team who vie to steal Divine's esteemed (at least according to them) title. Raymond exposes himself to unsuspecting souls but that is just the tip of the iceberg- the couple discreetly orders their homosexual manservant Channing to impregnate kidnapped women, so that the new-born can be sold to happy lesbian couples. The pitiful kidnapped woman in tattered clothes and straggly hair castigates Channing whenever he enters the basement; she hasn't even seen the actual perpetrators of her misery. When this terrible couple takes on Divine and her flamingos, it is WAR!I believe that the degree of crime committed by Connie and Raymond automatically makes them antagonists; while most of Divine's victims are simply killed without much introduction, we are constantly updated about Connie's victims' sufferings. Even the effect from the disturbing chicken scene with Crackers and the spy Cookie is palliated by the previous scene where we are told of Cookie's deception. . Divine and her gang shoot, chop and eat their victims in one scene but it is too hilariously over-the-top to be offensive. The sexuality on the other hand is something that is bound to gross out or p-ss off certain audiences, with the idea of incest itself can be unnerving for many, but again who really finds Divine to be role model or even a woman, with her androgynous appearance and her ludicrous make up (actual name: Harris Glenn; yes, a man!).The entire setup seems like shots from a sleazy reality show, the budget of the film being so tight the entire product was the master copy. We see choppy editing, shadows creeping up often in the background, cameras shaking furiously while closing in on a person and passersby gawking at Divine's appearance as if completely unaware of the film. However, it is this low-quality which make the action look more authentic, as if Divine is an actual C-grade celeb who has made her name through malefaction. The songs, a mix of rock and roll and country make the scenes more lively and enjoyable, and also mitigate the actual violent acts that occur when the music is played.Watch Pink Flamingos if you want to see a kick-ass trashy exploitation film. It is hilarious at moments (the 'trial' scene) and deliciously (in a slightly gross way), wickedly and divinely entertaining. My Rating: 7.4 out of 10