49 years after it was made, I finally watched John Waters’ Multiple Maniacs

Tonight was my first time to see John Waters’ 1970 film “Multiple Maniacs.” What a wild ride!

There was a long, bizarre (and pretty vile) scene that involved traditional prayers, summarized bible stories, and the stations of the cross...what amazed me was the accuracy. Often when film makers reference religion, they get a lot wrong. This was hardly devotional, but neither was it ignorant. Of course all of that happened during a pretty gross misuse of a rosary, so there’s that. Oh, the Infant of Prague gets a cameo as well. Why not?

Of course there was shocking violence (so JW), and drugs and lots of sex (so 1970), and random creativity (a lobster monster that just shows up and then just leaves - after doing terrible things), as well as mediocre performances (there are times when you can see people struggling to remember lines, and other times when dialogue is recited without rhythm or feeling like a public school student being forced to recite the preamble to the constitution in front of the class), but then in the midst of all that there is real potential and raw talent being expressed by Mink Stole and Divine.

In the end, after discovering that her beloved daughter (of whom she is super proud for dropping out of school, supporting herself as a sex worker, and dating a domestic terrorist) has been killed, Divine completely loses her shit (she was pretty well on her way before then), acts blindly out of her pain and rage, and is hunted by a system that values punishment over rehabilitation, healing, and restoration.

It was haunting and beautiful and chaotic and disturbing and nauseating and creepy and profound and political and even spiritual...all at once (or at least in quick turns). It’s the kind of thing that was probably better to see alone (As I did), late at night, without so much as a glass of wine. This one requires all senses to be at the ready, including revulsion.

I don’t know why it took me so long to watch it (I’m a John Waters fan and even had the joy of meeting him a couple of years ago), but I’m glad I finally did. A young Waters certainly wasn’t afraid to explore any idea and cross any number of boundaries in doing so.

MM is not humorless, but is far less comical than most of Waters’ films. And in several Divine flix, Divine gives us a wink as the large queen camping it up for laughs...but in Multi-Maniacs, Divine is real in an implausible way...She is simply the lead character, not a comic, but a “maniac.” The character is a woman who is played by a man...not schtick as much as just one more transgressive element in the picture. That may be the most genius part of it.

MM is a thinker. I like that, even if now I have post low-budg Indy horror-slasher flick insomnia. And I may never again be able to enjoy lobster. Don’t worry...I’ll pray through that one! Prayer works...I’m already craving a wood grilled lobster tail dipped in butter. Hmmmmmmm.