Pink Flamingos (1972)
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A criminal seeking to maintain her title as the "filthiest person alive" faces off against rivals who want to usurp her reputation.
The story
Divine, a criminal known as Babs Johnson, lives in a trailer with her mother, son, and a companion. After a tabloid paper crowns her the "filthiest person alive," she is confronted by the Marbles, a pair of rivals who are envious of her reputation and seek to outdo her in filth. The story follows the escalating conflict between the two groups as they engage in increasingly grotesque and bizarre situations. The narrative explores their mutual quest for notoriety while they navigate a series of crude and extreme scenarios in their quest to claim the title of the most scandalous individual.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Divine, living as Babs Johnson, resides in a trailer in Phoenix, Maryland, with her mother Edie, son Crackers, and companion Cotton. When a tabloid labels her the "filthiest person alive," the Marbles—Connie and Raymond—attempt to steal the title. The Marbles run a black market baby ring and engage in various crimes. They send a box of feces to Divine, leading her to vow that the senders must die. Meanwhile, Edie falls in love with the Egg Man. During a bizarre birthday party for Divine featuring grotesque entertainment, the Marbles contact the police, but Divine and her guests ambush and consume the officers. Later, Divine and Crackers invade the Marbles' home, where they find Channing and eventually free two women held in the basement. The Marbles' home is then destroyed by fire. Finally, Divine and her group confront the Marbles at the site of their burned trailer, where they are tried and executed by Divine in a "kangaroo court." The film ends with Divine and her companions heading to Idaho, where Divine consumes dog feces to prove she is the filthiest person in the world.
- First release year
- 1972
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Waters
- Writers
- John Waters · writer
- Cast and characters
- Divine · Babs Johnson; David Lochary · Connie; Mink Stole · Raymond; Mary Vivian Pearce · Cotton; Danny Mills · Crackers; Edith Massey · Edie; Channing Wilroy · Channing; Cookie Mueller · Cookie; Paul Swift · The Egg Man
- Genres
- black comedy; crime; independent
- Themes
- transgression; identity; absurdity
- Tone and mood
- grotesque; bizarre; explicit
- Setting
- A trailer on the outskirts of Phoenix, Maryland, and the Marbles' home.
- Premise and plot tags
- cult film; trash cinema; underground
- Content notes
- nudity; profanity
- Reception
- The film received a warm reception from critics and became a cult classic, eventually being selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 47 · scale: 100 · review count: 10
- Awards and nominations
- National Film Registry · Preservation · 2021 · Selected
- Production trivia
- Part of the 'Trash Trilogy'; The script was rewritten for a kid-friendly version in 2014; The film was banned in several countries
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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