America's leading titan of bad taste, John Waters, returns to X-rated territory (well, actually NC-17-rated territory, but you get the idea) for this wildly over-the-top comedy. Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) is a wife and mother living in Baltimore who, along with her husband Vaughn (Chris Isaak) and mother Big Ethel (Suzanne Shepherd), operates a local convenience store. One day, Sylvia receives a sharp blow to the head, which leaves her with a concussion. However, the concussion comes with
an unexpected side effect -- Sylvia has suddenly become a sex addict, and is soon attended to by the perverse and lascivious sexual evangelist Ray-Ray (Johnny Knoxville). When it becomes evident that Vaughn can't keep up with her sensual appetites, Sylvia throws herself into the strange netherworld of Baltimore's community of erotic overachievers, which includes her daughter Caprice (Selma Blair), who is living a double life as über-buxom exotic entertainer Ursula Udders. A Dirty Shame also features supporting performances from Waters regulars Patricia Hearst, Mink Stole, Mary Vivian Pearce, Channing Wilroy, and Jean Hill. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The story is trite and uninteresting. And the humor is only occasionally funny, and that's largely because it's almost impossible not to be impressed by Tracey Ullman's manic energy.
On the one hand it depicts what the world might be like if women had the same constancy of sexual desire that men have, but on the other hand, it has the intelligence level of a teenage boy's dirty joke.
Exploring the wide divide between prudes and the world of sexual excess, there's enough bad taste on display to shock, amuse and entertain. Sizzles when hot, fizzles when not
Waters try to make this film a extremely funny and dirty. The thing is: he transform A Dirty Shame in a very silly movie. However, still commit some laughs.
A Dirty Shame is the perfect title for this movie. Its got all the random, demented, kitschy and riotous humor that most John Waters movies have. I won't lie when I say I was laughing uncontrollably and obnoxiously for the first 45 minutes of this movie. Unfortunately A Dirty Shame turns into a pile of pointless
nonsense that was always there with this movie, but my tolerance kicked in and kind of expected a little more making the movie... a dirty shame. This definitely wasn't my first rodeo as far as John Waters was concerned but I guess I just wanted a little more plotwise. Don't get me wrong, this movie was hysterical and well worth the NC-17-rated watch for the hokey pokey scene alone. It just fell apart at the end.
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