Pink Flamingos (1972)

I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like this.  It is notorious for a very good reason.  It's just so out there and so sick that it is borderline brilliant.  Sometimes you're not sure whether you want to laugh hysterically or vomit (in a pink phlegmingo barf bag) and more often than not, I was just completely and utterly speechless.  It is so gross beyond belief making me wonder how did the crazy mind of John Waters come up with this stuff?  It is so over-the-top, you literally cannot imagine what might come next.  This is exploitation film at its most bizarre.

The film's characters compete for the title of filthiest person alive, outdoing each other every time, culminating in an infamous scene at the end in which Divine actually eats dog poop.  Everyone is given long monologues that are delivered with flaming gusto and flamboyance.  The costumes and makeup and wacky hairstyles are totally insane.  And perhaps the quirkiest thing about this movie is the awkward zooms in and out that don't really make any sense.  Add that to the intentionally wobbly camerawork, and you cannot help but laugh.  The movie despite all of the gross-outs is hilarious.

In the re-release that I screened, John Waters does a commentary at the end and presents some deleted scenes.  This includes the original trailer for Pink Flamingos which hilariously does not feature any of the actual footage, just audience reactions and everyone has the same WTF face.

I think the pink flamingo tradition at Johns Hopkins must be a tongue in cheek reference to this film since Waters is a Baltimore native and his films take place in and around Baltimore.  One day in the spring, hundreds of pink lawn flamingos appear on the quad and everyone steals some as room decorations, but little do they know the sick movie it references.