Polyester (1981)
Starring: Divine, Tab Hunter, Mink Stole, Edith Massey
Director: John Waters
Synopsis: Watch Divine's suburbian utopia in awe inspiring Odour-Rama
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

More gleeful, nonsensical brilliance from the "Prince of Puke," this time presented in fabulous Odour-rama which is a cheesy scratch and sniff system where the audience smell a scented area on a card when the corresponding number lights up during the movie.

There are hidden delights like freshly cut roses, but then there are other scents that i ought not to give away - just to mention that do beware!

The plot is about a suburban Elizabeth Taylor look alike with a heap of growing problems. Francine Fishpaw's elephantine size is only one of her problems, there is her retarded go-go dancing daughter, her glue sniffing sex offender son and then her porn cinema owning husband who is loathed throughout the community for his notorious trade.

Her only crutch is her toilet cleaner turned society debutante (at the age of 65) friend Cuddles, played superbly by Edith Massey. Francine's life spirals out of control and she rapidly reaches the end of the road where only the bottle looms as solace.

Polyester is another winner from John Waters, one of his best. Divine is excellent and the supporting cast of the usual degenerates, as brilliant as ever. Mink Stole, alas doesnt have enough scope for a change. She is often one of the strongest features of a Waters feature and to reduce her scope is not a particularly good idea.

Edith Massey is fantastic as Cuddles growing with cofindence with every passing film. Alas, it was to be her last. Listen up too for the wonderfully cheesy soundtrack featuring the Blondie team of Debby Harry who sings a trash classic "Daddy Daddy" with truly cheap gusto. The title song, "this is your life, Francine" is a gem, sung to perfection by Tab Hunter. This film is an instant classic.