Pink Flamingos (1972)

Of the many words I could have used to describe Pink Flamingos, “wholesome” was not one I expected to reach for. After all, this was the breakout film for both director John Waters – who’s famously dubbed himself “The Pope of Trash” and a “Filth Elder” – and drag icon Divine, who (in)famously nibbled on some fresh dog excrement in service to the film’s ending. The plot itself also revels in the same shock value – Divine plays….well, a drag icon also named “Divine”, but one with a criminal background who has been living under an assumed name along with her egg-obsessed mother “Edie” (Edith Massey), her son “Crackers” (Danny Mills), and “Cotton” (Mary Vivian Pearce), who is either an adopted daughter, Crackers’ girlfriend, Edie’s nurse, or…all of the above, maybe? They’ve mostly been minding their own business, using assumed names and sharing a trailer parked in the woods. But then a local tabloid declares that Divine (wherever she is) is “The Filthiest Person Alive”, which sends a…