TIFF Report: A Dirty Shame

Reader Comments

1. dave 09/13/2004 @ 12:21am

   As for myself, the guy holding Todd’s hand through the whole thing, found it to be mildly amusing at best.

   Did I laugh? Yes. A whole bunch… meehhh.. Not really. Good to see a David Hasselhoff cameo though - that was the price of admission right there.

   I would also like to know if the ‘Red Wings’ is a real band and if that song is gonna be on the soundtrack.

   Okay, and Johnny Knoxville’s suit. His real one. The one he attended the screening with. Very snappy.

   I also got a kick out of the fact that Selma Blair wants me like Anna Nicole wants the spotlight. Yes. Oh yes.

2. Canfield 09/13/2004 @ 8:15am

   having not seen the film I’ll confine myself to one observation.

   Potential viewers may wish to ask the following questions

   Is this a movie that

   A: Needed to be made

   B: Adds anything to discussion of sexual matters in the new millenium

   C: Will potential viewers ask themselves if this film is something they should “expose” themselves to?

   As C.S. Lewis said in The Screwtape Letters some people joke about sex only to have an excuse to talk about it.

3. Todd 09/13/2004 @ 9:23am

   A: No film “needs” to be made.

   B: Yes, actually, it does. It’s both a request for tolerance of diversity and a mockery of the hysteria that surrounds sexual matters in middle class USA. I wasn’t kidding with that Reefer Madness comparison ... I’m pretty sure the similarities are deliberate.

   C: It’s rated NC-17 so if you’re worried about it ‘corrupting the youth’ then it’s a non-issue ... they won’t be able to see it.

   And what’s wrong with talking about sex?

4. Canfield 09/13/2004 @ 10:59am

   A. I would dispute this fully depending on the definition useed of need. But I get your point.

   B. Surely John Waters point of view is suspect in this matter of setting any sort of reasonable boundaries for such a discussion.

   C. Youth certainly aren’t the only ones who may be corrupted by such material. Arty older types are sexual too. I guess it would be nice to see a comment or two on why such material would be innapropriate or unfortunate for our culture to be producing and consuming.

   As for the appropriateness for talking about sex surely Waters motives go beyond that. I would fall back on my C.S. Lewis quote.

   Don’t mean to lack humility esp. since I haven’t seen the film. But our culture is just as obssessed about sex as uptight about it. More sexually explicit material even when approrpaitely rated may not be productive to addressing that issue.

5. Todd 09/14/2004 @ 12:34am

   And why exactly should Waters be kept from the table here? Because he thinks that sex is fun? And funny? I’ve gotta say I think the facts are on his side. Sex IS fun. That’s why people like it so much. I know (because we’ve talked about it) that you don’t really have an issue with the way sexually explicit material is used in Dogme films or when it’s used to convey emotional distance, so is it only when portrayed as a positive that sexual content is a problem? I know you’re probably never going to agree with Waters but that doesn’t mean his opinion isn’t valid or that he should be excluded from talking about it in public.

   All this talk about ‘corrupting the youth’ really just plays into Waters’ point here as the entire film is a parody of the ‘don’t talk about sex or else everybody will start doing it’ mindset, hence the Reefer Madness comparisons.

   Oh ... and the content here is definitely explicit, but equally definitely non-erotic. If you’re standing proud as a result of watching this film then you’ve probably got some larger issues to address ...

6. Canfield 09/14/2004 @ 7:46am

   I didn’t say Waters should be kept from the table but nowhere, not one time in your whole review, do you seriously question his point of view. In other words my question is how to approach Waters point of view, not to censure him. Give praise where praise is due but how about some constructive criticism that would challenge ala’ Chesterton etc.

   Sex is a fine subject for a film (and can be a very funny subject but so is a balanced approach to reviewing said film.) “A Dirty Shame is a worthy entry into the Waters canon and certainly worth a viewing.” Viewing by who? How about some guidance for your viewers (old and young) who want to be part of the cool inner circle and be able to tell their friends they saw the new Waters flick.How about all the questions his point of view, and his new ultra extreme flick begs?

   And you are the one who used the phrase corrupting the youth not me. I stand by what I said. All of us stand in danger of corruption.

   How about a paragraph about Waters real agenda- trying to say that sex really isn’t that big a deal- wow do you think this guy has any assumptions about sex that you and I would disagree with? Might a film review be a good place to state some of those in a fun but dialogue encouraging way?

   Insert the last line of your above comments into your review and you actually have a cautionary statement made about the film which it no doubt deserves. I just didn’t see any real cautionary content to your review- and yes I think it needed some.

   And Sky Captain was a sadly bland affair.

7. Canfield 09/14/2004 @ 8:07am

   I think I have an amenable solution to our impasse.

   breast implants at thirty paces. The loser to eat Divine’s rotting corpse after flagellation by an overly excited Waters lookalike.

8. Todd 09/14/2004 @ 9:35am

   I’m pretty sure Blair’s implants could reach beyond thirty paces.

   And Sky Captain’s bland!?! Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!

9. Hal 12/29/2005 @ 8:11am

   Ya know, Canfield, until you actually go and SEE the movie, you are talking out your *ss, which is pretty typical of intolerance, I’ve found.
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