Divine,
Tab Hunter,
Edith Massey,
Mink Stole,
David Samson
... see more 
After making a name for himself with such underground gross-out epics as Pink Flamingos and Desperate Living, director John Waters made a bid for somewhat wider acceptance with this black comedy, whic... read more
DVD Release Date: September 7, 2004
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Stats: 475 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (475)
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January 8, 2008I think that "Polyester" is John Waters' best movie. "Female Trouble" may have been funnier, but I prefer the elements in this softer creation to that earlier, meaner-spirited film. "Polyester" was the director's bridge between his last bad taste epic, "Desperate Living" (which w... read more
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June 9, 2007Cheap. Dirty. Sleazy. Whacked-out. Funny. Smelly. I enjoyed Polyester very much. Despite being made in 1981, it felt very 1970's low-budget. Offered in Odorama, where you scratch and sniff the appropriate scent on a card when a number flashes onscreen, totally gimmicky and fun! D... read more
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January 8, 2009John Waters' love letter to the 50s melodrama and the William Castle gimmick film.
Brilliant. -
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September 7, 2011Waters went for more of a straight up black comedy this time around, making things slightly less scatalogical in nature, but only by a smidge.
Divine stars as a miserable housewife whose family is out of control, eventually finding love in the arms of Tab Hunter, with the procee... read more -
December 13, 2010"Bobo's dead, and i've had a miscarriage, BUT I'VE DISCOVERED MACRAME!!!!"
for some reason when you finally see it with an Odorama card, it's like a whole new adventure. In "this filthy world" John talks about when he was making the Odorama cards he was told he couldn't make the... read more -
December 24, 2008I wish I could meet the characters of this movie in real life. A slutty sister, a brother with a foot stomping fetish, a self serving dad who owns a porno theater, and a 300 pound, alcoholic "mother" that just wants a normal family.
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September 21, 2008Intersting if only for Divine & Edith Massey's intersting characters & performances. Not Waters' best, but worthwhile still...
Critic Reviews
August 22, 2005
Bill Gibron, DVD Verdict
September 15, 2002
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
He makes you endure the grossest of the gross and you still laugh through the whole thing
August 21, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
A low-rent version of a Douglas Sirk 1950s soaper, with Divine being dragged through all the paces that might have been the lot of a glossy star of the era. Full Review
July 5, 2002
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com
Waters' humor might be as broad as possible in Polyester, but it's also astute enough here to be funny from moment to moment. Full Review
October 22, 2001
Scott Weinberg, Apollo Guide
Tab Hunter (Grease 2) earns praise for playing the dreamboat with such sincerity, and also for kissing Divine full on the lips. You don't win Oscars doing stuff like that. Full Review
April 6, 2006
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
No review available.
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Polyester
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