Weirdly Loveable

OVER A 50-PLUS YEAR CAREER, director and writer John Waters’ general creative approach has been very consistent. “I make fun of the rules,” Waters tells Newsweek. “I’m making fun of the rules that I live in.”

Since the outrageous rule breaking of his early camp/bad-taste masterpieces Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble through more mainstream success with the film and stage versions of Hairspray, Waters has specialized in taking odd, objectively repulsive characters and making them seem somehow not only normal but loveable.

Much like Waters himself. When Pink Flamingos came out 50 years ago, mainstream critics were appalled. In 2021, the National Film Registry added the film to the Library of Congress for being culturally significant.