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Polyester

Play trailer Poster for Polyester R 1981 1h 26m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
93% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A frustrated housewife, Francine Fishpaw (Divine), tries to maintain her sanity while taking care of her dysfunctional household. Elmer (David Samson), her husband and the owner of an adult theater, is sleeping with his secretary, and her delinquent teen son, Dexter (Ken King), and pregnant teen daughter, Lulu (Mary Garlington), aren't helping matters any. But when Francine meets dashing Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), the owner of a theater specializing in art films, her life appears rosier.
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Polyester

Polyester

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Critics Consensus

As proudly tacky as its titular fabric, Polyester finds writer-director John Waters moving ever so slightly into the mainstream without losing any of his subversive charm.

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Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety Sep 12, 2008
A fitfully amusing comedy of not so ordinary people. Go to Full Review Derek Adams Time Out Feb 9, 2006
OK, so it's not The Cherry Orchard, but who could resist a film where a massive drive-in billboard proclaims 'Now showing - Three Great Marguerite Duras Hits'? Go to Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness May 4, 2005
B
Stinks in all the right ways. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Dec 27, 2022
Polyester isn’t one of his best; the midnight movie sensations Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble, as well as later mainstream hit Hairspray, hold up better. Still, it is a lot of fun. Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault Aug 30, 2022
B
Not nearly as gross as Waters’ previous outings (when Francine has to puke, she does it discreetly into her purse), but still wild enough to please any Waters fan. Go to Full Review Scott Sublett Washington Blade May 20, 2022
Polyester will be remembered for a long time. It is a well-made film, a masterpiece of comedy and an utterly original, independent vision. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad Sep 13, 2026 Polyester = a *4* star Movie See more thiago s @Thiagostone Dec 15, 2024 Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é mais ou menos, esse filme do John waters teve poucos cenas pesadas,mais teve, como dois adolescentes entraram na casa de uma velha e atiraram nela e depois outra cena foi divine viu seu cachorro enforcado por uma corda na cozinha de sua casa, o filme não teve uma história boa, E eu não recomendo esse filme. See more Mason M @RT73597940 Dec 14, 2024 I'm not the most familiar with Waters' earlier work, but I loved this film and its style here. Polyester is a hysterical comedy that perfects its absurdity and satire of romance films to make an amazing time. Divine and the rest of the cast all give amazingly over-the-top performances and Waters somehow makes a great film out of poor taste. This is a great film for if you need a good (but not so sophisticated) laugh. See more Alec B @Alec97 Dec 3, 2024 Its an interesting transition for Waters as he was moving from his down and dirty early stuff to somewhat more mainstream studio movies. It is funny as a crass Douglas Sirk spoof but the problem is that every performance is in the stratosphere and that type of hysteria can be exhausting. See more dave s @RT68722908 Nov 27, 2021 Seriously? I mean…like, really? What is the appeal to John Waters and his movies? It's hard to imagine anyone even thinking about laughing at any point in Polyester. It's the story of…wait a second…there really is no story. Francine Fishpaw (Divine) has a dysfunctional family. That's about it. It's horribly overacted, the dialogue is terrible, and the whole thing looks amateurish. It's mind-boggling that anybody would even consider recommending this, Odorama or not. There should have been an eleventh spot to scratch on the Odorama scratch card – the stench of foul garbage. See more Nov 2, 2021 what the hell is going on See more Read all reviews
Polyester

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Cast & Crew

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John Waters

Director

Divine

Francine Fishpaw

Tab Hunter

Todd Tomorrow

Edith Massey

Cuddles Kovinsky

Mink Stole

Sandra Sullivan

David Samson

Elmer Fishpaw

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Polyester

Polyester (1981) Polyester (1981) Polyester (1981) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A frustrated housewife, Francine Fishpaw (Divine), tries to maintain her sanity while taking care of her dysfunctional household. Elmer (David Samson), her husband and the owner of an adult theater, is sleeping with his secretary, and her delinquent teen son, Dexter (Ken King), and pregnant teen daughter, Lulu (Mary Garlington), aren't helping matters any. But when Francine meets dashing Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), the owner of a theater specializing in art films, her life appears rosier.
Director
John Waters
Producer
John Waters
Screenwriter
John Waters
Distributor
New Line Home Video [us], Criterion Collection, New Line Cinema
Production Co
New Line Cinema
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 29, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 18, 2010
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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