Late last year, Alyson published My Son Divine
by the late drag performer's mother with ace assistance by two filmmakers who shot In Bad Taste
and Divine Trash, two documentaries about Waters. This breezy guide to the life and films of the Baltimore filmmaker lacks the research and thoroughness of the earlier effort. Waters's own Shock Value
(1981) is still the definitive book on his life and career. Shock
covered his early short films and first five full-length features (including Pink Flamingos
and Female Trouble). Since the publication of that book, Waters has made six more films (including Hairspray, Polyester
and Cecil B. Demented). Instead of offering Waters fans a useful update, Pela recycles information about the earlier films. The author's interest wanes during the later films (the Johnny Depp musical Cry Baby
merits a mere three pages and Serial Mom
with Kathleen Turner is brushed off in three paragraphs). Equally frustrating are the chapters where Pela makes himself the focus: his disappointing visit to Baltimore; his trip to a spiritual medium to speak with the deceased Divine and his talk with scary, obsessive fans of Waters. A misplaced "bluffers guide," which reads more like an appendix, interrupts the chronology midway through to wax on rats, shoplifting, vomit, fat women and other "recurring imagery and motifs in John Waters films." The useful filmography (running more than 50 pages) contains fun facts ("Best Moment," "Low Point," "Best Dialogue") and brief reviews. (June)
