In 1987, Miami Connection was the opposite of what anyone looking for mainstream action cinema wanted.ĭecades later, though, it’s endured as, among other things, an endearing refutation to the toxic qualities of action films of that era. A re-release courtesy of Drafthouse Films in 2012 suddenly gave the production a whole new lease on life and it’s not hard to see why.
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Kim’s passion project, but then a funny thing happened. That seemed to be the end of writer/director/star Y.K. A tough blow in a year that also saw releases like Die Hard, Midnight Run, and The Naked Gun hit big.
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Per Orlando Weekly, Miami Connection only managed to score a handful of theatrical screenings, was dubbed the worst movie of the year by the Orlando Sentinel, and then vanished into the ether. "It's just the acceptance of me has changed and the people in power in the room where it happens are all crazy people now, from my generation, that lasted.In 1988, the independent action film Miami Connection didn’t do so well. "It gives all young people faith that you can think up the most outrageous thing. It is the way things go – the counter-culture becomes just the culture. Last year, the Library of Congress entered Pink Flamingos into the National Film Registry – alongside movies like The Long Goodbye, Wall-E, and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings. But at the end of the day, there is a great feeling for these people."Īt this point, Waters is used to Pink Flamingos getting praise from non-weirdos. "John Waters' secret throughout his career is that there's not a mean spiritedness in his movies," said Hampton. In an interview, he said Pink Flamingos had a lot to say about our current moment, particularly in the way the film balanced its edginess with compassion. In June, the Criterion Collection will celebrate the film's anniversary with a re-release and all the bells and whistles that usually entails, including an appreciation essay by film critic Howard Hampton. So maybe it's not a surprise that Pink Flamingos has become a fixture in American cinema. That feeling of joy is perhaps what's led much of his work to become cult hits (or even popular hits he wrote and directed the movie Hairspray, which became a beloved Broadway musical). "Why not try to write your first novel in your mid-70s?, " he said. Waters continues to challenge himself with new creative endeavors. "It is still alarming, and confusing in a way, and frightening almost. "It still works," Waters said, even 50 years later. The movie is perhaps most famous for the scene where Divine eats dog poo, but don't let that moment overshadow some of the other wild things that happen – genitalia gets mutilated, chickens get involved in people sex (and then eaten afterward), and incest is a reward for a job well done. Her main competition is a couple who live in a relatively tony Baltimore house, where they keep women chained up in the basement. The movie stars the late drag queen Divine as she tries to prove herself to be the filthiest woman alive. That ethos has been present in all his work, but especially in his career-defining, 1972 movie Pink Flamingos. You can imagine him grinning as he pushes certain buttons, daring the audience to come along for the ride. "Marsha even says, her victims are so diverse" he said. So instead he embraced it, to the point of ridiculousness, making sure everyone was included in the book. "You cannot ignore that," he said, about being attuned to what he called people's "touchiness" about race. So he changed the couple to an Italian-American one.
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But then, during the edit process, anti-Asian violence in America was in the news. For example, two of the innocent bystanders whom Marsha and the crew leave in their wake in Liarmouth were originally an Asian couple. There's an art and grace to tastelessness that requires a certain amount of sensitivity. Which isn't to say Waters is immune or indifferent to the social mores of today. He says the sensitivity reader never called him back. Imagine it! John Waters! Sending his first novel to a sensitivity reader! But whether that shows growth, or that Waters is selling out, or whether the whole thing is simply part of a carnival-barker-esque marketing routine, we'll never really know.