Female Trouble

Waters scrapes the bottom of the flash/trash barrel as artlessly as he did in Pink Flamingos. Again starring the wonder wobble Divine, Female Trouble documents the winsome life of one Dawn Davenport, from the moment she mashes Mum under the Christmas tree (having failed to receive her coveted cha-cha heels from Santa) to her shocking end in the electric chair. In between, accepted notions of beauty get flipped over on their bum as the sublime Divine sails through her various guises (loving mother, mugger, model and mass murderer), taking time out to double as her own deflowerer. Hilarious moments pockmark the movie like a bad case of acne, but like the person with only one joke to tell, it soon loses its appeal and laughter is replaced by lethargy.