For our purposes, though, it’s all about the soundtrack. Similar to the other big Waters hit, Hairspray, the film is built around the music that shaped and warped a very young Waters. Indeed, the soundtrack is part plundered from forgotten 45s, and part cornball pastiches of and love letters to the rough-hewn doo-wop, rockabilly and Sun Records sounds made specifically for the film. These songs are cranked up to 11 in terms of lyrical pastiche and hook plundering.
You can’t get more over the top than the mock vampy rave-up of “Please Mr. Jailer,” complete with enough goofy visual gags to make the Zucker Brothers plead for restraint. It’s a teenage riot from an entirely different angle. Scope it out on the big screen, the way Waters intended it to be seen….
Movie starts at 9:30pm. Tickets are $8 for adults.
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2016.