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Poster for Desperate Living

Desperate Living

1977 · 91 min

A gleefully filthy, over-the-top shock comedy that feels like a rude, chaotic carnival of bad taste.

Tagline
It isn't very pretty…
Overview
After killing her husband, Peggy Gravel and her murderous maid Grizelda wind up in the crazy town of Mortville, where Queen Carlotta presides over a sleazy collection of misfits.
In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • absurdstrength 3 of 3
  • campystrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • class
  • power
  • rebellion
  • identity
  • betrayal
Places
  • small town
  • single country house
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language strong
  • Violence strong
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror5
Humour8
Realism2
Romance2
Tension4
Darkness8
Complexity3
Emotional weight3

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, crime
Directed by
John Waters
Written by
John Waters
Starring
Liz Renay, Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, Edith Massey, Mary Vivian Pearce, Jean Hill, Brook Yeaton, Karen Gerwig
Music
Chris Lobinger
Cinematography
Thomas Loizeaux
Runtime
91 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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