Welcome to Queerty’s latest entry in our series, Queerantined: Daily Dose. Every weekday as long as the COVID-19 pandemic has us under quarantine, we’ll release a suggested bit of gloriously queer entertainment designed to keep you from getting stir crazy in the house. Each weekend, we will also suggest a binge-able title to keep you extra engaged.
The Aptly-Named: I Am Divine
Director Jeffrey Schwarz mined the subject of a lifetime when he hit on Divine, the 300-pound drag queen and actor, known for roles in Pink Flamingoes, Polyester and Hairspray. As with all Schwarz’s documentaries, I Am Divine captures an important figure in LGBTQ history with a sense of fun and infectious energy.
Divine made a career out of his work as a cult figure, performing in films, on stage and recording dance tracks, often with an anarchic and campy flair. His success would foreshadow that of drag giants like RuPaul, Coco Peru, Trixie Mattel and, well, every member of the Drag Race alumni. I Am Divine includes interviews with the title queen’s longtime collaborators John Waters and Mink Stole, friends, family, and a host of drag performers that look to him as a kind of drag godmother. By turns inspiring, heartbreaking and always hilarious, I Am Divine is just the kind of film we need right now: one full of life and hope.
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Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
Hairspray I had no problem with but Pink Flamingo’s and her antics to be named the filthiest person on earth was a bit too much, especially the ending when she walked up behind that dog, picked up its droppings and ate it. That topped the scene where she went up in the bushes, did her business and cleaned herself off with a roll of paper towels. I can’t see anything else but a lover of scat using her picture from that movie for anything else than looking for other scat lovers.
Mister P
There was a lot more to Divine than that scene.
John Waters is a treasure.
Kangol2
John Waters released a film called Desperate Living that has to be the most shocking of his films, and that includes Pink Flamingos, Multiple Maniacs, and my fave of the outre ones, Polyester, starring a resurrected Tab Hunter.
Desperate Living isn’t screened that often, but just before video rental stores disappeared you could sometimes find a VHS of that film, and let me say, after it ends, you may sit in silence for a long while. Divine isn’t in it so perhaps she said, No ma’am, not going to do it, though I think the real reason may have been scheduling, but let’s just say that it includes a catalogue of horrors I won’t list here (think auto-castration, etc.). Many an artist has sent up the complacent American suburban bourgeoisie, but this nukes them!
John Waters has gone to places on screen that no other American director would dare.
Mattster
OMG so little appreciation for camp and the groundbreaking of both Divine and John Waters here. Desperate Living was hilarious, I just about fell over laughing right from Mink Stole’s screaming rant at the neighborhood kids and it just kept going from there.
Most of his films are, or at least we’re, available on DVD.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
Desperate Living is available for free over on youtube if you have the time to piece the scenes together. If you prefer you can also rent it for $2.99 on youtube as well.
Mattster
Oh, and Divine did NOT back out of Desperate Living due to squeamishness, but could not appear due to commitment to another film, Women Behind Bars.
inbama
If only Divine had lived a good long life.
Who better to star in the President Donald Trump biopic?
Mattster
LOL! He could also have played Roger Ailes in the Fox News sexual harassment scandal movie. Not a far step from his out-of-drag role as racist TV station owner Werner Hodgepile in Hairspray.
A shame he died just as he was breaking through to a wider audience. Imagine Divine on Drag Race!
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
He died the same day he was to join the cast of Married With Children. I would have loved to seen him go toe to toe with ol’ Al Bundy.
clinton email server
Did the egg man come today?
Woteva
Divine came to the UK in the 80’s when he had a couple of hit singles here. I went with a bunch of friends to see the show. None of us were very impressed. He turned up very late and was vile – not funny/vile just vile.
The reviews weren’t good.
inbama
I saw her in Tom Eyens’s “Women Behind Bars” and she was terrific.
She just needed a good script.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
She starred in the cowboy/western movie Lust in the Dust which was pretty good. As a matter of fact I would put that one second behind Hairspray as her best performances.
justgeo
Yes but she was grotesque no matter how you spell it! NO diss but really???????????