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PECKER
John Waters, the creative force behind underground classics like Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Hairspray, and Cry Baby tried something a little more mainstream in 1998 with Pecker a film that is a little too safe in dealing with some subject matter that is now dated enough to make interest wane in 2017.
Most of Waters' work takes place in Baltimore in the 1950's but Waters chose to set this story in contemporary Baltimore, where we are introduced to Pecker (Edward Furlong) a young man obsessed with photography and the concept of it as art. Everyone in town knows Pecker and of his obsession...when people see him coming, they automatically start posing. His family loves him (despite the fact that they named him Pecker), even if they are slightly embarrassed about his passion for picture taking. Even his girlfriend (Christina Ricci) is finding it tiring until Pecker's pictures get the attention of a New York art gallery director (Lili Taylor) who wants to give Pecker his own show and faster than you can say "shutterbug" , Pecker becomes an art world celebrity, a position that does have its perks and its consequences.
There's no doubt that Waters' work has always been an acquired taste and that this movie has a lot going for it, particularly a really likable title character who we are behind from jump; however, I think my interest in what happened in the course of the story did begin to wane because the story seems dated...photography? Unless inside a modeling studio, when was the last time you saw anyone on the planet with a camera around their neck? Cameras are on cell phones now, making the whole basic premise of this film rather dated.
Waters' screenplay is pretty accurate in portraying the ups and downs of celebrity and those obsessed with same and we understand when the lives of the people that Pecker really cares about become damaged because of his success, but it's such safe, middle of the road stuff for a filmmaker like Waters. Waters has a reputation for outrageous stories and bizarre characters that require complete suspension of disbelief. Very few members of Waters' rep company are on hand here and it might be this cast's misunderstanding of Waters that made for some real sluggish going around the halfway point, before rebounding for a terrific conclusion.
Furlong is a charmer in the title role and I also enjoyed Mary Kay Place and Mark Joy as his parents, Martha Plimpton as his sister, and Brandon Sexton III as his BFF Matt, and I did enjoy a game Pecker and Matt play at the beginning of the film called "Shopping for Others", but the saggy center of the film and Waters' rather pedestrian subject matter kept this film from being what it should have been.
John Waters, the creative force behind underground classics like Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Hairspray, and Cry Baby tried something a little more mainstream in 1998 with Pecker a film that is a little too safe in dealing with some subject matter that is now dated enough to make interest wane in 2017.
Most of Waters' work takes place in Baltimore in the 1950's but Waters chose to set this story in contemporary Baltimore, where we are introduced to Pecker (Edward Furlong) a young man obsessed with photography and the concept of it as art. Everyone in town knows Pecker and of his obsession...when people see him coming, they automatically start posing. His family loves him (despite the fact that they named him Pecker), even if they are slightly embarrassed about his passion for picture taking. Even his girlfriend (Christina Ricci) is finding it tiring until Pecker's pictures get the attention of a New York art gallery director (Lili Taylor) who wants to give Pecker his own show and faster than you can say "shutterbug" , Pecker becomes an art world celebrity, a position that does have its perks and its consequences.
There's no doubt that Waters' work has always been an acquired taste and that this movie has a lot going for it, particularly a really likable title character who we are behind from jump; however, I think my interest in what happened in the course of the story did begin to wane because the story seems dated...photography? Unless inside a modeling studio, when was the last time you saw anyone on the planet with a camera around their neck? Cameras are on cell phones now, making the whole basic premise of this film rather dated.
Waters' screenplay is pretty accurate in portraying the ups and downs of celebrity and those obsessed with same and we understand when the lives of the people that Pecker really cares about become damaged because of his success, but it's such safe, middle of the road stuff for a filmmaker like Waters. Waters has a reputation for outrageous stories and bizarre characters that require complete suspension of disbelief. Very few members of Waters' rep company are on hand here and it might be this cast's misunderstanding of Waters that made for some real sluggish going around the halfway point, before rebounding for a terrific conclusion.
Furlong is a charmer in the title role and I also enjoyed Mary Kay Place and Mark Joy as his parents, Martha Plimpton as his sister, and Brandon Sexton III as his BFF Matt, and I did enjoy a game Pecker and Matt play at the beginning of the film called "Shopping for Others", but the saggy center of the film and Waters' rather pedestrian subject matter kept this film from being what it should have been.