A Baltimore teenager who picks up a second-hand camera starts snapping his way to stardom, soon turning into a nationwide sensation, with a fateful choice between his life and his art.
Direction
Waters at his most affectionate toward his trash-royalty subjects.
Acting
Christina Ricci playing a laundromat-obsessed girlfriend? Icon behavior.
Costume
Thrift store chic elevated to deliberate anti-fashion statement.
Director
John Waters
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Edward Furlong was cast fresh off Terminator 2; Waters specifically wanted a 'real movie star' to subvert with his trash aesthetic.
The film directly mocks the '90s art world's obsession with 'outsider art' and working-class 'authenticity'—Waters had watched friends get devoured by the same machine.
US
