Product Description

Are you ready for a movie that puts filth right where it belongs? Then get ready to laugh with A Dirty Shame--the latest raunchy riot from director John Waters (Hairspray). When a concussion awakens the carnal urges of Sylvia (Tracey Ullman) the people of Pinewood become pitted against each other in a battle of decency versus depravity.Running Time: 88 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 794043775420

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9879 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2005-06-14
• Rating: NC-17
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.com
When prissy, prickly Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) suffers a head injury during a traffic altercation, she's, er, revived by self-appointed sexual missionary Ray-Ray Perkins (Johnny Knoxville) and is transformed into an insatiable, take-no-prisoners sex maniac. Yes, it's a John Waters film. Yes, it's filthy. No, it's not as hilarious and sustained as you'd like it to be. It works for a while, though: Ullman, never a stingy comedienne, does everything Waters dares her to do without hesitation; words cannot describe the perversely sporting delight with which she mounts a water bottle during a round of "The Hokey Pokey" at an old folks' home. And there's some fun to be had when Sylvia's emancipation leads her Baltimore 'burb to new heights of ecstasy, freeing her large-breasted daughter Caprice (Selma Blair) while horrifying husband Vaughn (Chris Isaak) and her hardline mother Big Ethel (Suzanne Shepherd, hysterical) in the process. It's also packed with the standard cameos, the most satisfying of which is good old Patty Hearst at a Sex Addicts Anonymous encounter. But, for all the nasty, necessary glee, the movie feels inescapably been-there-done-that, and you can't help but wish this was 1972 and Divine was on hand to prowl for dog droppings. The most shocking thing about A Dirty Shame is how desperate and tiresome its anarchy becomes.--Steve Wiecking

From The New Yorker
In John Waters's latest Baltimore raunchfest, the always welcome Johnny Knoxville stars as Ray-Ray, a tow-truck driver who saves concussion victims by liberating their libidos. Tracey Ullman is the repressed housewife who becomes his disciple. As the awakened townsfolk speak of carnal Rapture and search for the last untried sex act, Waters delivers a full-out burlesque. The film is winningly nostalgic in the way it harkens back to a time when sexual provocations could be truly transgressive, but the broad lampooning of the Christian community seems dated. Still, Waters's anarchic energy never flags, and he hasn't become cynical. With Selma Blair and Chris Isaak. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

fun when watched in the correct context
Cult director John Waters gets back to his anarchic roots in this outrageous sexploitation comedy.

Tracey Ullman plays bored Baltimore housewife Sylvia Stickles, whose sexual urges are re-awakened in a big way after she suffers a concussion and is revived by "sex healer" Ray-Ray ("Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville). Sylvia then leads the whole population of Baltimore forward to find the "ultimate" in sexual pleasures. Suzanne Shepherd is Sylvia's mother Big Ethel, who counter-attacks her daughter's new-found liberation with her own protest group, The Neuters!

This comedy is definitely an acquired taste; it's meant to shock (after all, John Waters is the director), but it's also vastly entertaining and a whole heap of fun when you approach it from the right angle. Selma Blair and Chris Isaak co-star, with Waters favourites Mink Stole, Patty Hearst and Jean Hill.

Hilarious (don't believe the others!!!)
OK, it ain't Gone with the Wind, but I got a lot of laughs out of this. Tracey Ullman is really funny, but I give a lot of credit to all the unknown supporting characters who I thought had some funny lines. It's just a really silly fun film that only John Waters could make. What else do people expect? To enjoy this film, please remove rod from backside before viewing and you should be just fine. I gave it an extra star simply because so many cranks were dumping on it.

Sick, Twisted, And Always Amusing...
This is one of the best John Waters films of all time. John has a rare gift for openly challenging society's views on sexuality and bizarre behavior in the most amusing way and this humorous film is no exception.