Pecker

Pecker_720p(480P)

Call me a conspiracy theorest, but I believe that John Waters made this bad film as a sort of in joke just to see which critics would give it good reviews. Pecker is a disgrace of a film, with bad acting, a terrible script and parts that try so hard to be funny that they actually turn the viewer against the film. The film is its smartest at the start when we are first introduced to Pecker and his neurotic family and friends. Once we really start to know them, they all seem either fake (little Chrissy), uninteresting (the two homeless people; Why?), or just plain annoying in a bad way (Pecker's mom and sister). Furlong never seems to understand his character and is never convincing (he doesn't even seem to know how to hold a camera). Ricci is also less than convincing unlike many other critics would like to believe. Compare her work here to The Opposite of Sex and you'll see what I mean. There is no continuous story to this film and the story used isn't interesting. A lot of sub-themes are introduced and never explained why. For instance, Pecker's dad's bar that makes no money. What is the purpose of this? None. I must applaud John Waters on his in-joke and choose to give him an average rating for doing so, otherwise the film itself gets a 2/10. 5/10 stars.

Pecker is another John Waters tribute to the less fashionable side of his native city of Baltimore. Unlike previous films Pecker is set in modern Baltimore of 1998. And it's centered around a young man named Pecker. Lest you think it describes him anatomically or behaviorally, what it really does describe is his way of eating as a child, sort of pecking at his food. Of course it wouldn't be John Waters without the double entendre. Pecker as played by Edward Furlong was given a camera as a kid and it's become an obsession with him, to photograph life and find art in it. Art's everywhere, in his girlfriend's laundromat, in the sandwich shop where he works, in his grandmother's obsession with her talking Virgin Mary icon, even in the garbage where two rats are mating. Soon his pictures attract attention from the art world. But when that happens Pecker's own world starts to crumble around him. How and will he get it back is the story of Pecker. John Waters surrounds Furlong with a nice cast of supporting players with the usual Dickensian names for their characters. Best are Christina Ricci as Pecker's girl friend, Baltimore's laundromat Queen, and Brendan Sexton as his best friend and professional kleptomaniac. Pecker is another of John Waters's lighthearted look at life and some of the strange things we find in it. I think only the most hidebound of rightwing people will not find something amusing in Pecker.

Just when I think I saw the worst movie of the year (being Apt. Pupil) something as ridiculously stupid as this movie pops its way out of the little toilet bowl. The acting was like watching a high school play full of burnt out no-talent drama students. And the story was like a happily ever after children's fairy tale with the "f word" nicely placed in at the appropriate times. If you like to stare at your screen in amazement at the utter nonsense that is trotting along from this movie, then please by all means, see Pecker.

source: Pecker

Waters after Hairspray is like Woody Allen after Stardust Memories - you have to admire his ideas, but as far as execution the magic is gone. Pecker sets-up like a stock plot holding together a Marx Brother's comedy. Stuffed shirts, in the form of New York art snobs, are punctured by hometown "just folks". Unfortunately this isn't the Marx Brothers. Pecker's family and friends are neither fun nor interesting. And Water's undistinguished cast functions on a level well below the most routine Ma and Pa Kettle vehicle. The character acting is flat; Mary Kay Place, Mark Joy, Jean Schertler, Brendan Sexton, Carolyn Stayer, Jack Webster barely register on the screen. The supporting bit players are instantly forgettable. This is the fault of Pat Moran's casting judgement and Vince Peranio's flavorless set designs, neither of whom are helped by Water's lackluster jokes and apathetic timing. Any humdrum episode of Cheers is executed with more flair. Furlong, Lili Taylor, Martha Plimpton and Lauren Hulsey all appear ready and alert for a good show and are able to plow through soggy dialog while still showing signs of life. Unfortunately, none are given enough space to stage a filibuster and save the picture. Pecker is exactly the type of production that should have been vetted by a committee of Hollywood execs. They might have pitched better ideas about how to farm this turkey. The industry and audiences have caught up with the Waters program. They devour films and TV shows that make Mondo Trasho look respectable. That Waters would like to trade some of his cult status for box office success is understandable, but he is seriously misjudging the general audience who want something deeper and even more unique - not the same thing as on TV except more generic! Almost gave the Pecker an extra two stars for a fantastic Mink Stole cameo, but had to rescind them on account of a wasted Cindy Sherman appearance. John Waters is lucky the Baltimore Chamber of Commerce doesn't strip him of his citizenship after this pooped-out portrayal of his beloved hometown.

I was so disappointed with this movie by the end that I was glad it was under 90 minutes long. Early on I kept saying, "It'll get better, this is just the set-up, there's no way the whole movie can be this bad..." but it was. The only good parts are the scenes designed to shock the homophobes in the audience, but those can't stand alone without a good movie around them. Bad performances abound, and whether Christina Ricci is overacting on purpose or not, it's still annoying. Ed Furlong is the only actor that made me forget he was acting, and even he's handed some cheesy lines that made me wince. There are countless times that you'd get the point or the joke of a scene already, and then some character has to add the extra line to explain it to you. And annoy me. 3 out of 10.

I'm a big fan of Cry-Baby. It was a great movie where the characters were ridiculous, they all had some quirky idiosyncrasy and it all fit because it was set in the 50s and while telling a good story and being "just plain weird' it was a musical, which generally are a little weird, and it managed to indirectly make fun of the cheesy movies about teens that were played in theaters in the 50s... I thought John Waters had done all this intentionally for that film. I was wrong, it turns out he does that for every film of his, and Cry-Baby is simply the one time when it made sense. Pecker is a terrible mess of a film where these kooky character types just walk around spouting lines that make sense for their weird characters and then every once and awhile a straight character is introduced so that the story can just barely follow a very tired and clichéd plot line. This movie was equivocal to watching a grade 8 acting class play an improv game where they are all zany people for different reasons and must interact. It was terrible, and full of wasted talent. The modernity of the setting and the lack of the musical element should have evoked a change in his style, sadly it did not. This film was just stupid. And when you get passed the quirks of the characters, you realize how vapid and bland the story attempted to be, I say attempted because it seems as though the players are acting independent of the plot through the entire movie, there is no cause and effect for events, they simply happen, so that the movie can seem like it's actually going somewhere. If you've heard any good things about Waters and you are curious rent Cry-Baby, stay far away from this mess.

I wish John Waters would stay away from message movies, especially since the message is always the same: Trailer trash good, everyone else bad. This theme runs through Pecker, Cry-Baby, and to a lesser extent, Hair Spray. Serial Mom is his best recent feature--know why? NO MESSAGE! John has said in the past that he doesn't go for shock value anymore because today's audiences are so jaded. This is flawed thinking, as any newcomer to Pink Flamingos would still be shocked at that film today (my co-workers can attest to that!). Pecker is a predictable story: Boy takes pictures, boy gets discovered, boy discovers previous low-class existence was okay after all (There's no place like home). Spare us. Extra credit for the Virgin Mary bit, and the lesbian strip club.

Well, with the right amount of censors, I'm sure anyone would like this. While diehard John Waters fans will be disappointed (There's no obese transvestites that eat dog feces or hilariously hideous trailer park characters) it was still an uplifting film with good performances and several laugh-out-loud scenes. An uplifting John Waters film? Yes. He's also known for dark humor; but this film relied on harmless shock value. Edward Furlong plays the title character, a kid who takes pictures of everything he encounters in his sleazy Baltimore neighborhood. A NY art agent (Lili Taylor) observes his work and he finds he has the choice between either rising to fame (which he loses his friends and family) or keeping his original lifestyle as a poor suburban dweller. Give this one a try: Expect nothing, and you won't be disappointed.