George Kuchar Movies

The underground art of renegade performance artist, photographer, and filmmaker Jack Smith is explored through the images he created and the words of those who knew him best in filmmaker Mary Jordan's tribute to the man believed to have inspired some of Andy Warhol's most iconic works. A virulent utopian and anti-capitalist whose works spanned from the 1960s to the late-1980s, Smith gained notoriety early on in his career when he went battled the Supreme Court over the banning of his controversial work "Flaming Creatures." An enigmatic artist whose work remains on the fringes of the mainstream despite the praise of curators from the Whitney to the Louvre, the effects of Smith's powerful influence are explored in interviews with those who both loved and hated Smith. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In Nick Katsapetses' second feature film, three couples film their lives together as part of a filmmaker's master's thesis project, and as is often the case, the camera does not capture them on a good day. Gray and Daniel (Steven Sorensen and Matthew Rozen) are only a few days away from their commitment ceremony, but their relationship seems ready to crash and burn at any moment, largely thanks to Daniel's constant infidelity. Carrie (Carrie Morgan), on the other hand, no sooner turns on the camera than she's dumped by her girlfriend. Her return to single life and her less than cordial encounters with her ex don't go especially well. There is a third couple, who are happy together -- except no one can stand them. Shot in 16 mm for a mere $10,000, The Joys of Smoking received enthusiastic notice when it was screened at the 1999 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A documentary profile of filmmaker John Waters, Divine Trash focuses on the bad-taste pioneer's early years, especially his 1972 breakthrough Pink Flamingos, which turned the director of Mondo Trasho and Multiple Maniacs into the king of midnight movies thanks to word of mouth about the film's gleeful taboo-bashing -- and a distribution deal with the fledgling New Line Cinema. Interviews with filmmakers who both influenced Waters (Paul Morrissey, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Mike Kuchar, George Kuchar) and were influenced by him (Steve Buscemi, Jim Jarmusch, David O. Russell, Hal Hartley) are interspersed with copious behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Pink Flamingos, including the infamous doggy-doo scene. Through it all, the witty Waters provides commentary, recollections, and one-line quips. Pete Garey, owner of the film lab where Waters learned the technical side of moviemaking, recalls his first meetings with the youthful auteur. Mink Stole and other Dreamland Studios superstars reminisce about growing up in suburban Baltimore with Waters, who as a youngster loved car crashes, puppets, and clowns. The director's strait-laced parents reminisce about the financial support they provided for Pink Flamingos, which they have never seen. Neither has Frances Milstead, who looks back on the career of her late son, drag terrorist and Waters muse Divine. Divine and late "egg lady" Edith Massey crop up in various archival interviews and film clips. The man who played the "talking asshole" in Pink Flamingos also appears, albeit anonymously and disguised. Various film theorists and critics debate the merits and meaning of the Waters oeuvre, while Baltimore critic Don Walls and former Maryland film censor Mary Avara express their incredulity about the director's success. Divine Trash won the Filmmakers Trophy for Best Documentary at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. Director Steve Yeager, a longtime friend of Waters, would go on to direct In Bad Taste: The John Waters Story and help Milstead write a book about her son. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Executed in the manner of a 1940's low-budget programmer, this comedy-thriller chronicles the misadventures of screenwriter Edgar Allen (Rufus Butler Seder), aspiring to move along in the literary footsteps of another, 19th-century Edgar Allen. Edgar is trying to come up with good horror script in order to impress an agent. If the script is good, the agent will take on the scenarist. Needing digs, but having little dough, Edgar agrees to work for room and board as a janitor of the ramshackle Welcome Apartments, owned by an odd experimental filmmaker. Edgar finds that every resident is more than a little eccentric and uses them in his new script. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

An android rises up against its decadent human masters in this camp classic from underground filmmaker Mike Kuchar. As explained in voice-over, a nuclear war nearly destroys civilization, but humankind re-emerges into an age of indolence. Their every whim catered to by robot servants known as fleshapoids, the citizens of the future spend their time luxuriating in the sensual pleasures of food, sex, and sleep. One day, however, a fleshapoid named Xar (Bob Cowan) experiences the unquenchable desire to do a little luxuriating of his own. Rising up against his owner (Gina Zuckerman), Xar teams up with fellow android Melenka (Maren Thomas). Soon, the robot Bonnie and Clyde are battling for their freedom against the tyranny of scantily clad overlords Prince Gianbeno (George Kuchar) and Princess Vivianna (Donna Kerness). Director Mike Kuchar and his twin brother, star George Kuchar, began making 8 mm films together as teens in the early '50s. Sins of the Fleshapoids marks Mike Kuchar's first foray as a solo director. Poorly distributed and rarely seen outside of film festivals until its 2005 DVD release, Sins of the Fleshapoids nonetheless influenced a generation of later filmmakers, including David Cronenberg and John Waters. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi