A Dirty Shame

A Dirty Shame
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Waters
Written by	John Waters
Produced by	Pat Moran Christine Vachon
Starring	Tracey Ullman Johnny Knoxville Selma Blair Chris Isaak
Cinematography	Steve Gainer
Edited by	Jeffrey Wolf
Music by	George S. Clinton
Distributed by	New Line Cinema Fine Line Features
Release dates	September 24, 2004
Running time	Theatrical cut 89 min. Edited cut 84 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$1,914,166

A Dirty Shame (2004) is a satirical sex comedy written and directed by John Waters, and starring Tracey Ullman, Selma Blair, Johnny Knoxville, Chris Isaak and Mink Stole. It was filmed on-location in Baltimore on Harford Road which is prominently featured in the movie. It exists in both a full uncensored version and an edited, R-rated cut sold through Blockbuster and Wal-Mart as A Dirty Shame: The Neuter Version.

Synopsis

The people of Harford Road are firmly divided into two camps; neuters, the puritanical residents who despise anything even remotely carnal, and the so-called 'perverts', a group of sex addicts whose unique fetishes have all been brought to the fore by accidental concussions. Repressed Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) finds herself firmly entrenched in the former camp one day when, after leaving her promiscuous daughter Caprice (Selma Blair) - nicknamed Ursula Udders because of her gargantuan breasts and penchant for indecent exposure - under house arrest 'for her own good', she's smacked on the head by a passing car and meets Ray-Ray Perkins (Johnny Knoxville), a local mechanic and self-styled 'sex saint' who opens her mind to a whole new world of sensual pleasure, as he and his followers search for the ultimate sex act...

Cast

• Tracey Ullman as Sylvia Stickles
• Johnny Knoxville as Ray-Ray Perkins
• Selma Blair as Caprice Stickles
• Chris Isaak as Vaughn Stickles
• Suzanne Shepherd as Big Ethel Stickles
• Mink Stole as Marge the Neuter
• Patricia Hearst as Paige
• Jackie Hoffman as Dora
• Wes Johnson as Fat Fuck Frank
• Gaelan Connell as Horny Kid

Dreamlanders

• Mink Stole as Marge the Neuter
• Channing Wilroy as Male Motorist
• Alan J. Wendl as Officer Alvin
• Doug Roberts as Driving Neuter Husband
• Mary Vivian Pearce as Unjudgemental Ex-Sex Addict
• Jean Hill as Woman at Fire Escape
• Bob Adams as Bus Passenger
• George Figgs as Neuter (uncredited)

Cameos

• Ricki Lake as Herself
• David Hasselhoff as Himself

Trivia

• According to John Waters, when he asked the MPAA what he would need to cut in order for them to give his film an R rating, they replied that "after a while, we just stopped taking notes", and if everything they objected to was cut, only ten minutes could be distributed.
• Paul Giamatti was originally meant to play Vaughn Stickles, but dropped out to play in Sideways.
• The scene where Sylvia changes her clothes in the back of the cab is based on a true story. John Waters once had to change clothes in the back of a cab on his way from an airport straight to a book signing.
• The "R" rated version is heavily censored and removes all profanities and nudity. In an interview, Waters stated that this version is essentially for brainless people and "really weird collectors."

Goofs

• Before running out of gas, Sylvia's car is turned off and in park, but it is still moving.

Critical reception

A Dirty Shame received a mixed response from critics, half of whom have lauded its unashamed vulgarity, while the other half have lampooned it for much the same reason. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film is listed as having a 52% critical approval rating, with 53% among the 'cream of the crop.

One of the more positive reviews came from Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times, who wrote:

"A gross-out pioneer, Waters has always had more on his mind than delirious, sex-crazed silliness. By allowing people to speak freely about their sexual urges and practices with a bluntness that is jaw-droppingly hilarious, Waters has drawn deeply upon comedy's liberating power. The more the sex addicts talk about their hang-ups the more comically harmless they seem, and thus it's all the more absurd for the puritanical to try to punish them for their various pursuits of pleasure. Waters has always harnessed poor taste to lampoon attempts to limit freedom of expression. This raucously gritty and high-spirited film could scarcely be bluer in terms of the language, but from Waters it comes as a gust of fresh air."[1]

Also enthusiastic was Peter Travers of Rolling Stone:

"A Dirty Shame is Waters unleashed, and wicked, kinky fun for anyone except the twits who rated it NC-17...You may even shed a tear when Sylvia bonds with her daughter by confessing, "I'm a cunnilingus bottom." OK, the jokes are hit-and-miss and the plot is nonexistent, but the Waters spirit stays consistently and sweetly twisted. When the cast takes to the streets singing, "Let's go sexin'," you want to cheer them on."

On the other end of the spectrum was Roger Ebert, who gave the film one star out of a possible four:

"There is in show biz something known as "a bad laugh." That's the laugh you don't want to get, because it indicates not amusement but incredulity, nervousness or disapproval. John Waters' A Dirty Shame is the only comedy I can think of that gets more bad laughs than good ones...We go to a Waters film expecting bad taste, but we also expect to laugh, and A Dirty Shame is monotonous, repetitive and sometimes wildly wrong in what it hopes is funny."

Box office

A Dirty Shame opened on September 17, 2004 on one Baltimore screen to $29,384. The next weekend, it expanded to 133 venues, where it grossed $448,914 ($3,375 per screen). It ended its North American run with $1,339,668.

Overseas, the film earned an additional $529,584, making its global total $1,869,252.

External links

• Official site
• A Dirty Shame at IMDb
• ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› A Dirty Shame at AllMovie
• A Dirty Shame at Box Office Mojo