If you've seen any of John Waters's 1970s flicks, then you should know that he made every effort to shock the viewer. "Desperate Living" is no exception. This depiction of a colony of rejects has it all. Make no mistake about it, John Waters is a national treasure.

This film is about two idiots who kill a man and run away to hide in a hell on earth called "Mortville". This town is ruled by a gross and insane queen (Edith Massey) and all the residents are depraved losers living in a squalid shantytown. While there are tons of sick freaks inhabiting the town, Divine was unavailable due to another acting commitment and David Lochary recently died due to drug use and their presence was sorely missed.

While all of John Waters' previous films received X-ratings, this one oddly did not and I really can't understand why. This film is jam-packed full of full frontal nudity--much more than you'd find in PINK FLAMINGOS and FEMALE TROUBLE (Waters' two previous films) combined. Now if you are looking for anything remotely sexy, I advise you to look elsewhere, as these people make up the ugliest nude and sex scenes in film history. For example, you get to see a 400 pound woman having sex, a castration as well as a crotch shot of (ugghh!) Edith Massey!! My advice is do NOT watch this film on a full stomach! Also, unless you are planning on living a celibate life, I also advise you not to watch as it might just permanently kill your sex drive--it's THAT bad. Yuck!!

Despite all the depravity and copious nudity, the film is actually better than PINK FLAMINGOS because there actually a few funny and inspired moments--whereas FLAMINGOS seemed only designed to offend. My favorite scenes included the great wrestling match as well as the first 10 minutes of the film (some of the funniest in film history).

Amazing because it was poorly made and offensive, I think this film is a step backwards for John Waters' fans, as the previous film (FEMALE TROUBLE) is much funnier and insightful regarding modern society. DESPERATE LIVING is just nasty and occasionally funny....but mostly nasty. It doesn't really seem to have much relevance or parody--just lots and lots of shocks spread among the humor. I only recommend it to die-hard Waters fans and the very, very curious.

For a while this was John Waters classiest film. That's a compliment. Mink Stole and her morbidly obese maid Grizelda flee town after killing Stole's husband. They end up in Mortville, a seedy, trash strewn town ruled by the grotesque Queen Carlotta (the brilliant Edith Massey). They also run into Liz Renay (as Muffy St. Jacques) and the angry Mole, who's desperate for a sex change and heads to none other than Johns Hopkins to get that ball rolling. Needless to say, her new appendage does not meet with a pleasurable fate. Stole gives an absurd performance that should have received Academy recognition and Jean Hill (as Grizelda) is hilarious. The film is insane, a lot of fun and featuring some pretty savvy opening titles.