A suburban homemaker's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-feti... Read allA suburban homemaker's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.A suburban homemaker's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.
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Featured reviews
Her husband runs an adult cinema. Her son, based on the Baltimore Stomper, a true character, sniffs industrial solvents, stalks women with cute shoes and feet, and then stomps on them with his combat boots. The daughter, obviously the model for Christine Applegate's character in Married With Children, is the high school slut that dances on tables for quarters. And Mom worries about fresh scents.
With these subplots to the main plot, it should be obvious that plot resolution and character development are not the main attractions in a John Waters movie. The caricature of society and its stereotypes is his game, and the best moment of the movie has to be when the TV news camera is in the face of one of the Baltimore Stomper's victims as she is being carried to the ambulance on a strecher. The victim's on camera stream of obscene invectives against the callous media was one of the great moments of the movie because it was such a refreshing expression of the common person's real disgust and frustration with tabloid evening news and a culture that trivializes human suffering. Juxtapose a broken instep with the main character's insufferable pain of finding a smelly sock and you have the theme of this movie. Even the fairytale resolutions to the problems are a hilarious sendup of 80's America.
If you want to see what makes John Waters such a cult hero, but would find Female Trouble or Pink Flamingos too offensive, this was his first attempt to bridge the gap to the more accessible films he made later, while still having enough of the gross-out quality for a good laugh riot.
(Serial Mom will be on TV the weekend after Veteran's Day, and it is another very accessible glimpse into the mind of Mr. Waters.)
Polyester and it seemed everyone was wearing the fabric in 1981 in some manner is a wonderful satire on the American scene. Like Married With Children the Fishpaws are your typical American family seen with a jaundiced eye. But the Fishpaws make the Bundys look like the Cleavers.
Our leading character is Divine all 300 pounds of her who has let herself go to seed married to this bum of a husband David Samson who is getting on with his secretary. Divine is a good Christian woman who lives the middle class life due to Samson's income from a drive- in he owns where porn rules.
Her daughter Mary Garlington is the Kelly Bundy of the 80s. And her son Ken King has issues that make Bud Bundy look like the All American kid. He's not called the Baltimore Stomper for nothing.
In the end she gets shed of Samson and meets her dream man, Tab Hunter. But that's only the beginning.
Divine created some very funny characters for John Waters in her life. But they had a touch of pathos and sadness as well. This was her great strength as a performer.
Waters serves up some real funny stuff in Polyester. It's positively Divine.
Did you know
- TriviaFirst John Waters movie to garner an 'R' rating in the USA. All of Waters' previous pictures stateside had been X-rated or unrated.
- GoofsWhen Dexter's principal calls Francine, Francine starts acting as if he's hung up on her before he's even said goodbye.
- Quotes
School Principal: Is Dexter ill today?
Francine Fishpaw: Why, no, Mr. Kirk. Dexter's in school.
School Principal: I'm afraid he's not, Mrs. Fishpaw. Dexter's truancy problem is way out of hand, and the Baltimore County School Board have decided to expel Dexter from the entire public school system.
Francine Fishpaw: Why Mr. Kirk - I'm as upset as you to learn of Dexter's truancy - but surely expulsion is not the answer?
School Principal: I'm afraid expulsion is the only answer. It is the opinion of the entire staff that Dexter is criminally insane...
- Crazy creditsDuring the credits, the title song "Polyester" describes the action seen on screen, leading the audience through a helicopter shot of the suburbs into Francine's house (commenting on its French Provincial decor) and upstairs to meet her.
- Alternate versionsThe end-credit text is omitted on the Amazon print of this film.
- SoundtracksPolyester
(Title Song)
Words and music by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry (as Deborah Harry)
Vocals by Tab Hunter
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Полиэстер
- Filming locations
- Edmondson Drive-In Theater - 6000 Baltimore National Pike, Catonsville, Maryland, USA(art house intellectual drive-in theater, now demolished)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $300,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $5,670