30 Second Bottom Line: A rebellious teenage girl leaves home, has a baby, takes various jobs, from fast food server to go-go dancer, and then a hooker. Her personal values ride the wave of satire that push the limits of grossness.
Story Line: Dawn Davenport (Divine) is the nightmarish, arguably overweight teenager that no parent wants. It's clear from the outset that she respects no one, not even herself. After a family argument on Christmas Day, she leaves home and has sex with a man named Earl (also played by Divine) who picks her up when she is hitchhiking. She becomes pregnant and delivers a baby girl in a scene that alone would merit an NC-17 rating. She names her Taffy, and Mink Stole later plays Taffy when she is 14-years-old.
The independent look of the film is appropriate for this bizarre story about relationships that more often than not are best described as raunchy. As a go-go dancer or prostitute, she in no way is afraid to flaunt her flab in outfits that were probably conceived with the figures of women that one sees in Playboy or a Victoria's Secret catalog. From Dawn's viewpoint she is not overweight¾she just has a figure that is more robust than most of her friends.
When Taffy is about eight years old, we see what type of mother Dawn has become. Taffy does not attend school because mom does not want to worry about what to put in her lunch or to be bothered with questions regarding her homework. By the time Taffy is 14, one of Dawn's friends proudly observes, " I'm glad I had an abortion."
Gator (Michael Potter) works at the Lipstick Beauty Salon and lives with his Aunt Ida (Edith Massey), a neighbor of Dawn's. The salon is very exclusive and expensive, and you have to be interviewed by the owners Donald and Donna Dasher (David Lochary & Mary Vivian Pearce) to become a customer. Dawn is accepted and soon she and Gator are married, much to the chagrin of Aunt Ida. She wants Gator to have relationships with gay men so she won't have to be bothered with the typical domestic issues of heterosexual couples.
Gator, Dawn, Taffy and Aunt Ida define the dysfunctional family much more than Gene Hackman's The Royal Tennenbaums . Taffy even catches them nude in bed taking care of business and it's no big deal.
The tone of the film is somewhat like a dark, messed up version of a Lucille Ball or Bette Midler character. The story does play out in very curious ways, to an end that only Divine would think gives Dawn the legacy she deserves.
Tell Me More About It: One of my first thoughts was that I did not know films like this existed in 1974. When I screened this film, with a handful of other critics, I literally did not know anything about the movie and therefore had no preconceived notions about what to expect; other than maybe it was a variation of Nico and Dani or Fat Girl. I figured it was off beat, but it is more in outer space than on earth.
In looking at Divine and the cast of characters that director John Waters has assembled, one can only think of how full we can become of ourselves in our own self image. The Dashers came close to stealing the show from Divine as did Aunt Ida with her outrageous outfits, her demeanor in the bird cage and adjustment to an injury delivered by an ax. At one point, an outfit that Donna wears looks like it could have been the inspiration for Bjork's dress worn at the Academy Awards in 2001, which reminded one of a dead, white goose. However, as over the top (which is an understatement) as this film is, Divine kept raising things a notch higher every ten minutes or so.
Female Trouble is a film that you may or may not enjoy. It's for sure a film that you will not forget. It has the feel, somewhat, of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with its overtones of bisexuality. Keep in mind that Divine plays the role of the mother and the father of Taffy during the process of conception.
Although there is music in both films, (NOTE: What other film are you referring to, Hedwig?) this is a soundtrack that you only want to hear when you are looking at the movie. Female Trouble was ahead of its time and it's fair to say that when it was made, it was on the bleeding rather than leading edge. It still might be, almost 30 years later. The satire in Female Trouble is very much open to interpretation and that's the value in the film, other than the many sick humor laughs. The more I think about the film, the better I like it.
Rated NC-17 for explicit sexuality and nudity; I will also add that there are scenes of violence and gross behavior which many will consider quite offensive.
DVD