Lorna Irvine reviews 'One of the finest pop culture documentaries ever made'.
So, have you heard the one about 300lb drag queen Divine playing Jackie Kennedy? Or perhaps being raped by a giant plastic lobster? Maybe the incident in which film director John Waters insisted he eat a genuine dog turd in one take? All bizarre but utterly true and all there for posterity on the big screen.
This is the twisted tale, directed by Jeffrey Schwarz, of how one Harris Glenn Milstead, a beautiful shy little boy from Baltimore, Maryland, USA, mutated into glam grotesque Divine, muse to John Waters (the man film critics dubbed 'The Pope of Trash').
Wonderfully interspersed with stock footage and ridiculous 50s propaganda film clips (“They were out of their minds...ON POT!” or “Beware...a homosexual may be walking amongst you…RIGHT NOW!”), this absorbing portrait of Divine is as hilarious and touching as the man himself—who in interviews, out of character, is sweet, witty and softly spoken.
With testimonies from his many friends, including Waters, Greg Gorman, Mink Stole, Holly Woodlawn and the man who created his image, make-up artist Van Smith, it charts his journey from shy bullied kid who overate to fill the void in his life to gay icon rocking the New York nightclubs with his outrageous stage act.
Theatre darling Ann Liv Young may recently have shocked with her mermaid act featuring real fish, but Divine did it first—and on a trampoline. He was more than drag: he was performance artist, agent provocateur and genius. Of his act, one fan says, “The essence of it, was, 'Is she gonna screw me, or eat me?'”
Having been disowned by his mother Frances for coming out, he worked his anger into scabrous roles in Waters' legendary seedy low-budget flicks Mondo Trasho, Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos and Polyester, all of which caused widespread repulsion, as well as fascination. As Waters quips of these early films, “I considered vomit from the audience a standing ovation!” Divine's performances in these made Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? look like Doris Day.
The cult success of such films paved the way for the red carpet hit Hairspray - Waters' accessible, family-friendly movie. By this point Divine was considered a proper actor, had a string of disco hits and, more importantly, had finally been accepted by his parents, before his untimely passing aged 43 in 1988.
One of the finest pop culture documentaries ever made, I Am Divine proves that an outsider can crack the mainstream. Or at least, beat it's ass to a pulp.
I Am
Divine (18) Directed by Jeffrey Schwarz, USA, 2013, played as part of Glasgay! Run ended.
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