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Desperate Living  (1977)

Desperate Living
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
NR
Theatrical Feature Running Time:
90 mins

Theatrical Release Information:
Desperate Living

Divine was touring as a cabaret singer when director John Waters made this comedy of the grotesque, but he filled the void admirably with the equally rotund Jean Hill and burlesque-queen Liz Renay. The film tells the story of Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole), a mad housewife who kills her husband then goes on the lam with her 300-pound maid Grizelda (Hill). After being sexually accosted by a lewd, cross-dressing cop with gingivitis, the women are directed to Mortville, a shanty-town for fugitive criminals ruled by the evil Queen Carlotta (Edith Massey). Carlotta's daughter, Princess Coo-Coo (Mary Vivian Pearce) wants to renounce the throne and marry a nudist garbageman, so the Queen has him killed and enlists Peggy's aid in infecting the kingdom with rabies. Waters uses a fairy-tale framework to indulge his penchant for nauseating set-pieces, such as a transsexual lesbian (Susan Lowe) having her new penis cut off with scissors and fed to a dog, women being fed live cockroaches, and Peggy being assaulted at a lesbian glory-hole. Massey is hilarious as the Queen, urging her leather-clad bodyguards/sex-toys to "rob my safety-deposit box!," but the oddly-named actor Turkey Joe steals the show in his brief role as a lecherous cop, spouting lines like "I love the feel of cold nylon on my big butt!" and slobbering over Grizelda's huge underpants. The pinnacle of gross-out humor, Desperate Living is Waters' strangest and funniest film. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide


Desperate Living Trivia

Who played Muffy St. Jacques in the movie Desperate Living?
Liz Renay played Muffy St. Jacques in the movie Desperate Living

Who played Peggy Gravel in the movie Desperate Living?
Mink Stole played Peggy Gravel in the movie Desperate Living

Who played Mole McHenry in the movie Desperate Living?
Susan Lowe played Mole McHenry in the movie Desperate Living

Who played Queen Carlotta in the movie Desperate Living?
Edith Massey played Queen Carlotta in the movie Desperate Living

Who played Princess Coo-Coo in the movie Desperate Living?
Mary Vivian Pearce played Princess Coo-Coo in the movie Desperate Living

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Portions of Content Provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.