My Review of Female Trouble (1974)

 

Written And Directed by John Waters 

Dawn: "Davenport. Dawn Davenport! I'm a thief and a shitkicker, and, uh, I'd like to be famous."

After three movies that have tested my tolerance levels for the lewd and grotesque, I think I've found my first favourite movie from John Waters. I also think this was a movie where the director somewhat toned down his baser impulses without compromising his creative juices.

Divine as a performer certainly has delivered with the outrageous material she's given and here, she got to play a character that grew from a bratty teenager to a monstrous adult and quite well to boot.

The movie started with Dawn Davenport (Divine) being expelled from her school and losing her shit when her parents didn't give her the shoes she wanted for Christmas. A sexual encounter with the odious Earl Peterson (Divine) resulted in a nightmare child named Taffy (Mink Stole/Hilary Taylor). Let's just say that motherhood wasn't a natural fit for someone like Dawn.

On the other hand, Dawn did seem rather adept at prostitution and thieving and had fun doing that with former school pals, Chicklette (Susan Walsh) and Concetta (Cookie Mueller). Then there was Dawn's aspirations to be a wife. That was something else she wasn't cut out for.

Dawn's choice in husband was sleazy hairdresser Gater Nelson (Michael Potter). Gater came with a weird Aunt Ida (Edith Massey), whom Dawn would later torture. Dawn's marriage to Gater also brought her to the attention of another weird crime obsessed couple named Donald (David Lochary) and Donna Dasher (Mary Vivian Pearce). They saw Dawn as a grotesque muse but created an even bigger monster when Dawn decided to go on a public killing spree.

Dawn's descent into madness meant that no one was safe, not even Taffy. Saying that, I wasnt exactly devastated when Dawn killed her own daughter. Dawn's trial and lead up to her execution was a brilliant way to cap off the movie. Of course she was deluded enough to think it was a good thing.

- Aunt Ida lost her hand but she scarred Dawn's face with acid beforehand. She also kept trying to set Gater up with men, despite him being straight.

- Taffy was meant to have some learning difficulties. At one point, she met her father and killed him. Dawn had a lesbian lover named Earnestine (Elizabeth Coffey)

- Standout music: Divine sang Female Trouble.

- Chronology: Baltimore from 1960 to 1974. 

I had so much fun with Female Trouble. John Waters struck the right chord with a suitably delightful performance from Divine as the truly terrible Dawn Davenport. My favourite of both so far.

Rating: 7 out of 10