When asked to name the single film that he would say changed his life, director John Waters is unambiguous: it's The Wizard of Oz, which he summarizes deliciously: "Girl leaves drab farm, becomes a fag hag, meets gay lions and men that don't try to molest her, and meets a witch, kills her. And unfortunately - by a surreal act of shoe fetishism - clicks her shoes together and is back to where she belongs. It has an unhappy ending." more ›

Maybe it's the subtle sideways smirk, the pencil thin mustache, the Perry Como-inspired, neatly tailored jackets, or perhaps it is just the way he made the most wholesome of plants, a pussy willow, seem like the dirtiest of words. We're not sure, but John Waters is truly a person, artist and, ultimately, a character unto himself. more ›

Here at Chicagoist, we have a deep fascination with bizarro, pencil-mustachioed director John Waters, and it is only natural that adoration extends to one of the most talented actors from the wacky ensemble that starred in cult classics such as Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble: Mink Stole. Just prior to Stole's arrival in the Windy City to promote her new black comedy horror film, All About Evil, Chicagoist spoke with the cult legend. more ›

This week in the Chicagoist Podcast Series, a more star-studded podcast has ne'er been seen within the hallowed digital halls of our RSS Feed. more ›

Los Angeles, 1972: Barbi is a bored suburban housewife, frustrated that her blond stud of a husband Rick seems to care more about working at the office than spending time with her. So she reinvents herself as Viva, call girl extraordinaire, and soon finds herself in the middle of some far out adventures, pursued by a nudist hippie, a narcissistic artist, a cynical theatre director and her best friend Sheila's philandering husband. Can she find happiness and fulfillment in the middle of the sexual revolution? more ›

John Waters: Junk hoarder? Slum lord? Con man? (No, not that John Waters.) This Waters is an 80-year-old lousy neighbor who created a giganto junk house on the 4200 block of Melvina. The folks who lived around the trash heap (sadly not an oracle) were less than thrilled. James Parker, who lives next door, kept a close eye on Waters and even documented the junk man's movements with a point-and-shoot camera. Kopka called the... more ›

Skidoo sounds like something we made up at 3 AM while at some party: Groucho Marx (in his last movie) plays a gangster named God, Jackie Gleason trips on acid while in jail, Carol Channing plays the most sane character in the whole thing, there's a musical number known as the Garbage Can Ballet, and every credit to the movie is sung. It's an actual movie from 1968 and it was directed by Otto... more ›

Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and we here across the Gothamist network wanted to express would like to tell you, in the spirit of the holiday, just how much we love you, our readers. Don't let it get to your heads, though. There are plenty of things we love, you included. Just be glad you're not amongst the things we hate. SFist saw their beloved mayor enter rehab, and they loved the... more ›

An exhibit that makes you laugh sounds good enough. But we grew skeptical about the Chicago Cultural Center’s Situation Comedy: Humor in Recent Art, after reading this description from Cultural Affairs’ monthly e-newsletter: These works employ various strategies involving text and image using parody, satire, slapstick and practical jokes to inject humor into the normally staid art environment. We dreaded the prospect of seeing mildly funny work paired with belabored explanations draining what little humor... more ›