night falls on
Mondo Trasho
1969
Directed by John Waters and starring Divine, David Lochary, and Mary Vivian Pierce
Mondo Trasho is a perfect example of just what unconventional means John Waters and his gang of regulars used to bring their tales of squalor and depravity to life. Mary Vivian Pierce stars in this semi-silent, black & white film shot on Super 8 film in the streets of 1968 Baltimore, which also co-stars Dreamland Studios' own diva in residence, the 300lb. drag artist known only as Divine (nee Harris Glen Milstead).
This is the story of two women whose lives collide, both literally and fguratively. After starting a seemingly normal morning, Bonnie (Pierce) finds herself on the receiving end of an unexpected shrimp job in the park by early afternoon, courtesy of a long-haired foot-fetishist. Her admirer makes a rather hasty departure once the lewd act is complete. A groggy and disoriented Bonnie stumbles out into traffic only to be mowed down in reverse by a Mansfield-esque behemoth in a gold lurex halter pantsuit (Divine, of course). Frantic, Divi stuffs the unconscious girl into her car and their adventure begins.
Divine's expressions and melodramatic glares more than make up for the lack of actual conversation in this film, relying solely on the music snippets and pre-recorded dialogue to convey to us by now that she is slightly more interested in escaping police attention than in the actual welfare of her victim. Nonetheless, Divine does make an effort to help Bonnie and is rewarded with a visit from none other than the Virgin Mary herself. Divi flings herself at the feet of the laundromat apparition proclaiming how hard it is to be "Divine". Her devotion is again rewarded, this time with a shiny new wheelchair. Curiously, Mary seems to reward our heroines' half-assed devotion with equally half-assed miracles. All this help from above, however, does little to prevent the girls' car from being stolen during the washateria miracle. Bad luck continues when the girls, now pedestrians, are mistaken for escaped mental patients and hauled off to a mental ward. At the asylum, the crazies swarm over Divine and the still-unconscious Bonnie. Their curious attention is only diverted when fellow patient, portrayed by Mink Stole, does a topless tapdance for her friends. But all of this hubbub abruptly ceases when the Virgin Mary makes yet another appearance. Once again, Divine adopts the beleaguered heroine role and is swiftly rewarded with a switchblade, foreshadowing the violent conflict to come.
The Virgin Mary's very appearance, however, has sent the room into a frenzy and soon, all patients, including Bonnie & Divi escape. Rushing to a pay phone, Divine makes one final attempt at helping the girl she carelessly struck at the beginning of their day together. The response from the receptionist at the doctor's office is both classic and disturbingly accurate. "Mmmhmm, mmhmm, allllright...Mmmhmm, mmhmm, allllright" mutters the disinterested woman as she confirms their appointment. Divine and the girl rush right over as fast as their cha-cha heels and wheels can take them. Divine starts to question why or how she chose to come see this particular doctor, a Dr. Coathanger (David Lochary) when a chain of bizarre events begins in the lobby. The receptionist uses narcotics out in the open. Soon after Bonnie is admitted, the papparazzi arrive in pursuit of local celebrity, Divine. Right behind them are the police, however who've also been tailing our heroes. Bonnie meanwhile, has been viciously maimed by Dr. Coathanger, who has replaced her dainty feet with grotesque but magical monster feet. The new appendages may give her powers of teleportation, but they can do very little for Divine who dies in a pigsty after being wounded in the skirmish with Baltimore's finest. Once Divine dies, heavenly representatives come for her one last time. Bonnie, desperately in need of some comfort and human decency uses her magical new feet to transport herself to a downtown street corner only to be verbally eviscerated by two strange women who suppose aloud if she's everything from a drag queen to a draft dodger to a hooker! This is clearly a commentary by John Waters on the lack of basic human compassion that he feels so many of his detractors display--the same critics that might dismiss this film as mere shock material and vulgarity. Even though this film can get slightly long at times, it's fun to watch the Dreamland cast when they were all so young and on enough drugs to make each scene hilarious in its overuse of melodrama. The soundtrack is an added bonus! |
