Pecker
USA 1998
Reviewed by Mark Kermode
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
In Baltimore, amateur photographer Pecker takes pictures of his friends and family, which he exhibits in the fast-food store where he works. Glamorous female art-dealer Rorey Wheeler stumbles upon Pecker's work, and whisks him off to New York City. After an exhibition in a gallery, Pecker is fêted as a naïve genius while his subjects are sneered at by the metropolis' art cognoscenti.
Back in Baltimore, Pecker's photographs begin to cause trouble. His best friend Matt becomes too well known to be a thief, his girlfriend Shelley receives obscene phone calls and his younger, sugar-obsessed sister Chrissy is visited by a social worker who prescribes Ritalin to calm her down. Meanwhile, his older sister loses her job at the Fudge Palace nightclub because Pecker has photographed its clientele in compromising positions. Its rival the Pelt Room is picketed for showing pubic hair, and Pecker's grandmother Memama loses the ability to talk to her plaster statue of the Virgin Mary.
When a Vogue fashion photographer comes to Baltimore he humiliates Pecker's homeless friends by dressing them in designer clothes. Rejecting Rorey's sexual advances, Pecker turns down an exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York and instead invites the glitterati to come to Baltimore, where they are confronted with pictures of themselves looking ridiculous which Pecker shot in New York. At the ensuing party, the Virgin Mary statue speaks, and the crowd toast "the end of irony".
Review
The greatest irony of John Waters' career is that he has ended up loving and being loved by Baltimore, the town he initially tried so hard to infuriate. From being the most disgusting film-maker in the world, Waters has become something of a local hero, venerated for bringing an element of glitter into an area not known for its star-spangled potential. Nowadays one of the main reasons for visiting Baltimore is to gawp at the place where the trash-maestro first put a camera up someone's fundament and to see where the cast of Pink Flamingos inspired one critic to demand: "Who are these people? Where do they go when the sun comes up? Isn't there a law or something?"
In his fifteenth film, which the writer/director describes as, "my satire of a Woody Allen movie," Waters balances his affection for Baltimore with an equal contempt for New York. For Waters, the Big Apple is full of fraudsters desperate to be different, while Baltimore is packed with genuinely queer folk, a quality which makes Pecker. His crowd is much more likable than their big-city counterparts (making Dave Hardin's soundtrack rendition of 'Baltimore, You're Home to Me' sound oddly free of irony). From Pecker's girlfriend Shelley, Christina Ricci's fiercely independent laundromat mistress, to Pecker's grandmother (played by Jean Schertler) who talks to a statue of the Virgin Mary, and his father who staunchly asserts "pubic hair causes crime", all of Pecker's pals are affectionately drawn, rather than vulgar, caricatures.
Waters loves these people - indeed, their quirks seem drawn from elements of his own personality. While it's easy to read Pecker himself as a thinly veiled portrait of the artist, traces of Waters run deep even in sugar-crazed Little Chrissy, whom Pecker thanks for teaching him "that life is nothing if you're not obsessed." Pecker's sister Tina dishes up a classic string of Watersesque MC patter at the Fudge Palace ("This is Death Row Dave! He's a three-time loser who's been sentenced to the chair... but he's still got a boner!"), while Shelley becomes the auteur's mouthpiece when she realises true beauty can be found even in "the brilliant green of a grass stain, the subtle yellow of a urine-soaked sheet, or the aqua blue of cold water as it dilutes a violent red blood stain."
As usual, Waters' coy sweetness is tempered by an almost bloody-minded need to offend somebody. So we get to see two rats having sex, a man masturbating on a washing machine, a psychotic child snorting peas up a $10 bill, a lecherous phone caller (Waters himself) making pointed use of the word "vagina", and even a sub-soft-porno-style insert of 'beaver bush' which will presumably keep the film out of some family-oriented video stores. But when delectations of this kind are served up against the comb-and-paper innocence of such ear-tickling pop gems as Paul Evans' 'Happy Go Lucky Me' and Leroy Pullins' 'I'm A Nut', it's hard to imagine how anyone could take umbrage.
Cameos are liberally scattered throughout the film. These include a by-now-expected appearance from Patty Hearst as well as Waters' stalwart Mink Stole supplementing walk-ons for artist Cindy Sherman and art critic Greg Gorman, who lend credibility to Waters' broad swipes at the art world. Edward Furlong, Martha Plimpton and little Lauren Hulsey handle their roles with racey aplomb, but the show is stolen by Christina Ricci, a cross between Jane Russell and Norman Bates who continues to be the most exciting and entertaining screen actress working in and out of Hollywood today. Few people could bring such weight to the role of Pecker's "stain-Goddess" girlfriend, but when she tells an irritating customer to, "get out and take your tired wardrobe with you" it's hard not to stand up and cheer. Not quite on a par with Cry-Baby and even less likely to cause a box-office stir than Serial Mom, Pecker remains a refreshing reminder of Waters' spunky talents, and offers continued proof that there really is a very thin line between treasure and trash.
Credits
- Producers
- John Fiedler
- Mark Tarlov
- Screenplay
- John Waters
- Director of Photography
- Robert Stevens
- Editor
- Janice Hampton
- Production Designer
- Vincent Peranio
- Music
- Stewart Copeland
- ©none
- Production Companies
- Fine Line Features presents a Polar Entertainment production
- Executive Producers
- Mark Ordesky
- Joe Revitte
- Jonathan Weisgal
- Joe Caracciolo Jr
- Associate Producer
- Pat Moran
- Production Executive
- Claire Best
- Production Co-ordinator
- Karen Sirota
- Unit Production Manager
- Mark A. Baker
- Location Manager
- Debra Donaldson Dorsey
- Post-production
- Supervisor:
- Gina Roose
- Executive:
- Sara King
- Assistant Directors
- Michele Ziegler
- Gary Romolo Fiorelli
- Joe Incaprera
- Script Supervisor
- Christine Moore
- Casting
- Pat Moran
- Billy Hopkins
- Suzanne Smith
- Kerry Barden
- Associate:
- John Strawbridge
- Camera Operator
- Joseph Gallagher
- Art Director
- Scott Pina
- Set Decorator
- Patty Burgee
- Pecker's Photographs
- Chuck Shacochis
- Virgin Mary Created by
- Willie Richardson
- Costumes
- Van Smith
- Wardrobe Supervisor
- David Davenport
- Make-up Artist
- Betty Beebe
- Hair Stylist
- Howard 'Hep' Preston
- Musicians
- Piano/Bass/Drums:
- Stewart Copeland
- Guitars:
- Michael Thompson
- EVI:
- Judd Miller
- Supervising Music Editor
- Michael Dittrick
- Music Editor
- Sharyn Tylk
- Music Score Recordist/Mixer
- Jeff Seitz
- Music Consultant
- Larry Benicewicz
- Soundtrack
- "Happy Go Lucky" by Al Byron, Paul Evans, performed by Paul Evans; "I'm a Nut" by/performed by Leroy Pullins; "Uh! Oh! (Part 1)" by Don Elliot, Granville Burland, performed by the Nutty
Squirrels; "Woo-hoo" by George Donald McGraw, performed by Rock-A-Teens; "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" by Joe Young, Fred E. Ahlert, performed by Billy Williams; "Straight Boys" by John Waters, Stewart Copeland, performed by Vicki Randle, Stewart Copeland; "In the Mood" by Joe Garland, performed by Henhouse Five Plus Too; "Baltimore, You're Home to Me" by/performed by Dave Hardin; "Don't Drop the Soap (For Anyone Else But Me)" by John Waters, Stewart Copeland, performed by Stan Ridgeway, Stewart Copeland; "Pecker Man" by Stewart Copeland, performed by Damecus Metoyer, Stewart Copeland; "Swamp Thing" by David Ball, Richard Norris, performed by The Grid - Sound Supervisor
- John Nutt
- Sound Mixer
- Rick Angelella
- Supervising Re-recording Mixer
- Mark Berger
- Re-recording Mixer
- David Parker
- Dialogue Editors
- Patrick Dodd
- Richard Quinn
- David Franklin Bergad
- Sound Effects Design
- Kyrsten Mate Comoglio
- Sound Effects Editor
- Malcolm Fife
- ADR
- Group:
- Loop Therapy
- Foley
- Artists:
- Margie O'Malley
- Marnie Moore
- Recordist:
- Benjamin Conrad
- Mixer:
- Steven Fontano
- Cast
- Edward Furlong
- Pecker
- Christina Ricci
- Shelley
- Bess Armstrong
- Dr Deborah Klompus
- Mark Joy
- Jimmy, Pecker's father
- Mary Kay Place
- Joyce, Pecker's mother
- Martha Plimpton
- Tina
- Brendan Sexton II
- Matt
- Mink Stole
- precinct captain
- Lili Taylor
- Rorey Wheeler
- Patricia Hearst
- Lynn Wentworth
- Jean Schertler
- Memama
- Lauren Hulsey
- Little Chrissy
- Maureen Fischer
- T-Bone
- Donald Neal
- Mr Bozak
- Carolyn Stayer
- Miss Betty
- Jack Webster
- Outsider Al
- Alan J. Wendl
- Mr Nellbox
- Judith Knight Young
- 'Fat & Furious' lady
Anthony Rogers- Billy Heckman, 'Death Row Dave'
- Billy Tolzman
- Seafood Sam
- Brian Thomas
- Larry the Lughead
- Tim Caggiano
- Lester Hallbrook
- Betsy Ames
- Venetia Keydash
- Scott Morgan
- Jed Coleman
- Valerie Karasek
- Redd Larchmont
- Cindy Sherman
- herself
- Joyce Flick Wendl
- street lady
- Liam Hughes
- wild man of 22nd Street
- Greg Gorman
- himself
- Irving Jacobs
- Guzzles
- Mary Vivian Pearce
- homophobic lady
- Kennen Sisco
- art fan a
- Jennifer Zakroff
- art fan b
- Angela Calo
- pregnant girl
- Susan Duvall
- saleswoman
- Ruth Lawson Walsh
- sneaky customer
- Adin Alai
- body builder
- Emmy Collins
- hippie
- Brigid Berlin
- super market rich lady
- Kimberlee Suerth
- beautiful girl
- John Badila
- irate manager
- R. Scott Williams
- stylist
- Susan Lowe
- hairdresser
- Marisa Zalabak
- make-up artist
Andreas Kraemer- junkie
- Sharon Neisp
- bouncer
- Delaney Williams
- construction worker
- Bobby Brown
- average joe
- Regi Davis
- cop a
- Tyler Miller
- Randy, blind photographer
- Channing Wilroy
- wise guy neighbour
- Rosemary Knower
- Friends of Mary a
- Kate Kiley
- Friends of Mary b
- Jack French
- old fart customer
- Doug Roberts
- Mr Heckman, Death Row Dave's father
- Patsy Grady Abrams
- Mr Heckman, Death Row Dave's mother
- Holly Twyford
- straight girl
- Joshua Shoemaker
- Channel 11 anchor
- Sloane Brown
- Sloane Brown, Channel 45 anchor
- Thomas Korzeniowski
- toupé man
- Susan Greenhill
- voice of miraculous Virgin Mary
- Lola Pashalinski
- voice of Pelt Room announcer
- Certificate
- 15
- Distributor
- Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd
- 7,765 feet
- 86 minutes 16 seconds
- Dolby
- Colour by
- Technicolor