Plot: A barker beckons people to come inside a cavalcade of perversions, where sights like they’ve never seen will be on showcase. A puke eater, a heroin addict, a woman with hairy armpits, and two queers kissing, all of that and more on display. The show is free, so some folks wander in to be shocked and sickened. After being shown a number of various sights, they’re taken into the special viewing tent, home to the show’s true star, Lady Divine. But instead of a closing performance, Lady Divine provides a gun and robs the audience, even shooting one mouthy patron. But all of that is tame compared to what Lady Divine plans when she discovers her boyfriend has another woman. Will Lady Divine find justice for the betrayal or will she just find more suffering on the road to vengeance?

Entertainment Value: The second feature film from John Waters, Multiple Maniacs is a fun, low trash adventure. All you’d expect from an early Waters movie is here, including a touching re-enactment of the stations of the cross. The most infamous scene is perhaps a rosary being used as a sexual aid, which was quite a shock at the time. Now this plays more like slapstick comedy, but at the time it was a bold inclusion. I do think time has tamed some of the content of Waters movies, but the spirit of rebellion is still strong here. The social satire leads the film in some wild directions and in turn, gives us a lot of entertainment. The cast is filled with Waters regulars and the performances are what you’d expect, but they’re always fun to watch. Multiple Maniacs might not pack the same shock value as it used to, but in a very politically correct climate like we have now, it is nice to visit a time when someone pushed the limits of acceptable content. So if you like Waters or trash cinema in general, give Multiple Maniacs a look.

A few topless girls and of course, Divine’s bare ass are shown. The blood level is low, but we do have Divine disemboweling her boyfriend with glee. The red stuff is just aftermath from non graphic violence, but hey, blood is blood. The dialogue in Multiple Maniacs is hilarious throughout and made even better by the shouting, over the top performances of the cast. Divine is able to make even mundane lines shine and the maniac turn in this movie is quite an experience. On the crazy scale, we have Divine in a showdown with the army and of course, a rapist giant lobster. Those are on top of the wild performances and various other mind boggling moments, like the foaming at the mouth bloodlust of Divine toward the end.

Nudity: 3/10

Blood: 2/10

Dialogue: 7/10

Overall Insanity: 8/10

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