Desperate Living

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1h 30m

Comedy

Drama

List

70%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

80%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

A housewife (Mink Stole) murders her husband, runs away and ends up in a town ruled by an evil queen who wants to infect her kingdom with rabies.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Even John Waters himself was not entirely pleased with his weird tale of mad housewives and eccentric lesbians in revolt, but the performances are good.

Rated: C+

Feb 28, 2012

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 3/5

Sep 14, 2005

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Bill Gibron

DVD Verdict

Desperate Living [is] a movie that feels like three separate films fused together. The first and the second are fantastic.

Rated: 92/100

Aug 22, 2005

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Daniel M. Kimmel

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Feb 8, 2004

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Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 2/5

Dec 30, 2002

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Mark Palermo

The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Rated: 3/5

Dec 12, 2002

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Audience Member

The last truly bananas, independent film from Waters. The story is wacko, grim and all over the place, but all the players are here, giving it their campy all. Mink Stole is especially hilarious in the beginning with her freakouts.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/20

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delysid d

without Divine, it couldnt be as great as the previous movies, but i liked it. i liked all the john waters movies

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/28/18

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Audience Member

Wicked funny but gross movie. queen carlottas reign is probably no different than Saddam Hussein, OBL or Kim Jung Un, behind the scenes.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Probably Mr. Waters' grossest movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Audience Member

Film cult!! not for everyone.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

A first glimpse at the imagination of John Waters and it's quite the view. Initially hilarious but soon the squalor of the picture becomes grotesquely tiresome.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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John Waters

Director

Liz Renay

Muffy St. Jacques

Mink Stole

Peggy Gravel

Susan Lowe

Mole McHenry

Edith Massey

Queen Carlotta

Mary Vivian Pearce

Princess Coo-Coo

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Synopsis

A housewife (Mink Stole) murders her husband, runs away and ends up in a town ruled by an evil queen who wants to infect her kingdom with rabies.

Director: John Waters
Screenwriter: John Waters
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 27, 1977, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2013
Runtime: 1h 30m

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