Polyester

Francine Fishpaw, a beleaguered suburban housewife, struggles to keep her composure while managing a wildly dysfunctional family. Her husband Elmer runs a porn cinema and carries on an affair with his secretary, her daughter Lulu faces an unplanned pregnancy, and her son Dexter spirals into delinquency. Just as despair threatens to overwhelm her, Francine encounters the suave Todd Tomorrow, an arthouse cinema owner whose charm offers a glimmer of hope.

Pairing the iconic Divine with former teen idol Tab Hunter—who boldly took the role while closeted at the height of his fame—this outrageous satire gleefully dismantles the conventions of melodrama. Directed, written, and produced by John Waters, the 1981 black comedy skewers suburban life with biting wit, tackling divorce, adultery, abortion, alcoholism, racial stereotypes, fetishism, and the religious right.

With its camp sensibility and unexpected emotional resonance, the film stands as both a parody of Douglas Sirk’s “woman’s films” and a subversive portrait of early 1980s America. It remains one of Waters’ most gloriously over-the-top yet surprisingly heartfelt works.