It gives all young people faith that you can think up the most outrageous thing. LIMBONG: I asked Waters if the movie, for all of its countercultural and transgressive bona fides, loses something by being given the seal of approval by arguably the most mainstream of film institutions.
But at the end of the day, there is a great feeling for these people. HOWARD HAMPTON: John Waters' secret throughout his career is really, there's not a mean-spiritedness in his movies.
Late last year, the Library of Congress entered it into the National Film Registry alongside films like "The Long Goodbye" and "WALL-E." It's due for a big Criterion Collection rerelease that includes an essay by critic Howard Hampton. LIMBONG: And for all of the film's insistence on pushing boundaries and daring the audience to watch, the movie's stood the test of time. Divine and her son Crackers break into the ritzy house of their enemies and lick everything - plates, spoons, couches.ĭIVINE: (As Divine/Babs Johnson) Just get your saliva glands going.ĭIVINE: (As Divine/Babs Johnson) Real good. LIMBONG: The part that got me the most was the scene when they're licking everything in the house. I look at some of it, and I even think, oh, my God. WATERS: So which part got you the most? I mean.
I've seen some stuff, and I didn't think this movie would get me, but it got me, man. I told Waters that I hadn't seen it before, and there was a look of satisfaction on his face when I told him, look, I grew up with a broadband connection in my bedroom, you know. The movie is probably most famous for the scene where Divine eats dog poo, but a bunch of other wild stuff happens in the movie, too. LIMBONG: It's from 1972, and it stars the late drag queen Divine as she proves herself to be the filthiest woman alive against a rival filthy family. LIMBONG: It's an ethos that's been present in his work from his early short films to, of course, "Pink Flamingos."ĭIVINE: (As Divine/Babs Johnson) Good morning, Mama. Why not try to write your first novel when you're mid-70s? I want to keep trying new things. WATERS: I just wanted to try something I hadn't done - same reason I took LSD when I was 70 again, the same reason I hitchhiked across America when I was 66. You can feel him grinning through the pages of the book. Through it all, Waters writes with a sort of glee, you know. And of course, Marsha's distaste for bodies and people she finds beneath her gets tested.
Marsha's daughter, a trampoline addict, is trying to kill her. LIMBONG: Something happens to them on the job that even Waters doesn't want to get into. Odors are an unwanted invasion of her superiority, an interruption to her focused life. It's all dirty to her - used, stained with other people's fluids - children's tears, unwanted sperm, stray mucus, even unrequired food. WATERS: (Reading) Marsha hates anything old - antiques, vintage, collectibles. Here's Waters reading from the audio book. She's uptight and wary of any and all bodily functions. LIMBONG: They squat in empty, unused Baltimore McMansions - the way Marsha likes it. And this is that day, but she ain't paying him. WATERS: His salary is he can have sex with her once a year. WATERS: With her partner, who is her sexual slave named Darryl, who is her fake chauffeur. JOHN WATERS: Marsha Sprinkle is a woman that makes her living stealing suitcases in airports off the carousel. Here's Waters introducing us to his latest batch of freaks. Quick caution to our listeners - it's a John Waters story, so it contains graphic sexual language.ĪNDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: There are times when reading the novel "Liarmouth" feels like delirium, which is to say it feels like a John Waters movie. John Waters has written his first novel - it's titled "Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance" - and he spoke to NPR's Andrew Limbong about it. John Waters is still trying to break boundaries - just like BJ Leiderman, who writes our theme music. John Waters's breakout film hit, "Pink Flamingos," came out 50 years ago, and for all its gratuitous sex and graphic content, it was recently chosen by the Library of Congress to join the National Film Registry.