Trouble In Mind to try and categorize is a strange thing, because despite its harsh language, and at times brutal violence, this is very much a fairy tale.

Once upon a time a young couple Coop (Keith Carradine) and Georgia (Lori Singer)are fed up with their life of poverty, they choose to put that life behind them and head to Rain City to make their fortune. Having been unable to get work for months in the country, Coop soon finds work with Solo (Joe Morton) running small time robberies. But crime is not good, and this has a nasty backlash, power changes Coop, and the stable relationship he had with Georgia and their baby son Spike is left in ruins, Georgia is made ill by change and gives Spike away, while their marriage lies in tatters. But things are worse than this, Coop has been treading on dangerous, that owned by Hilly Blue (Divine).

One man can change everything, that man is Hawk; the question being does he care enough to change things?

As the credits for Trouble In Mind roll you realise from the haunting magical tones of Marianne Faithfull to Mark Ishams music, that this is not a movie like any other, it's like a trailer, a teaser of an opening that gives mystery rather than painting a picture; Characters emerging from shadows, young lovers talking about the wondrous power of the city, a place where dreams can become realities. And then the rose tinted lens that Rudolph uses to finish off this image rather smartly.

Trouble In Mind is a hollow gift of a movie, its packaged nicely but at its core there is nothing; no real story, well not one that you can easily follow. It's all kind of thrown together, and Rudolph will admit as much himself, the movie was made off the cuff as each new actor was assigned to the project. When Rudolph recruited Lori Singer, he says he watched her make her way from the car lot, to the third floor of his building, and by the time she had reached his office, he had her story all laid out in his head.

Keith Carradine creates some real amusement in the movie, watching him make a transformation to ordinary guy on the street, to a human incarnation of a snake, with red silk smoothing jacket and dyed red spots of hair, his character becomes so visually loud that even in the mid eighties when the movie was made he looks out of place. They say red and green should never be seen, and these are the colours of choice for Coop.

In stark contrast to Coop is Hawk, played by Kris Kristofferson, here looking the ultimate in chic. Hawk is for the most part dressed in long black woollen jackets, dark suits, and black shirts, suave is not the word, and again Hawk is out of time with fashion, but this time his style is very much from the future.

Divine is a delight to see as the movies big villain, an unusual choice for this movie; Divine jested that it was strange for him to star in a movie and play a man, the actor best known for his roles in John Waters movies clearly enjoyed this role, sadly it was one of his last.

An hour an twenty minutes in to what essentially is a Prince Charming love story, with the odd comedy gangster the movie takes a sudden and alarming turn. Prior to a rather crafty assassination attempt one of the characters in a strange satanic ritual foresees his own death, and a few minutes later meets it. To hear this character scream puts a cold chill down your spine, you don't see his death, but you know rather like him that its coming.

One of the biggest joys of Trouble In Mind is that it's a movie that is set no place in time. It's not set in the past, but is so aged that you don't even suspect its set in the future. Even the movies location Rain City, which is obviously Seattle is imaginary. All the road vehicles are from the 60's, while public transport, in this case a advanced tram system (though in place at the time had only just been unveiled in real life) looks very much like something from the far future.

Trouble In Mind is endearing in every way but its storyline, and anyone that can watch this movie and say that they understand every aspect of its story is a liar, for even Rudolph himself seems a little hazy about the film. You'll find pleasure in the movie though, from its styling, to the comedic moments; this is a prime example of the strange times the movie industry went through in the mid eighties.

Divine stars as Babs Johnson, a trailer denizen with a fabulous sense of flair. She lives with Miss Cotton (Mary Vivian Pierce), Mama Edie (Edith Massey), and her deranged son Crackers (Danny Mills). They lead a less than idyllic life but are blissfully unaware of any shortcomings. Hell, this family has it all! Retardation, poverty, corpulence, perversions...sounds like every family we know intimately!

Enter into this arrangement Connie and Raymond Marble (Mink Stole and David Lochary) "two jealous perverts" who are aware of Divines' reputation as "The Filthiest Person Alive" and who are hell bent for leather to seize her title. Through more vicious local gossip, they acquire the address and fire the opening shot in this war of filth by sending a turd in the mail. This does not sit well with Divines' brood and an escalating battle follows. The devil is in the details here, and to describe what goes on would not only strain credulity, it would be criminal not to let the viewer discover it for himself.

This is a visceral experience, and by sitting through repeated viewing, one can be made whole. Waters tells us all we need to know about the human condition. In his world, loyalty is prized more than obedience. That is exactly why I'm so pissed off that A DIRTY SHAME has been in release for three weeks and has not yet made it to a screen in my stinkin' backwoods town.

It seems that Mr. Waters is up to old tricks. He accepted a NC- 17 rating for his new film, A dirty shame, rather than trim his vision to meet the small minds that censor our life. Give him the Congressional Medal of Honor for this. He's fighting for our freedom in a very real sense. God Bless!

The film opens by showing the deep division that has always existed in high schools between the practical and the sheep. Our lead girls could care less about school and are only marking the time until they are old enough to earn money dancing in a strip bar. The realities of Columbine come easily to mind when you consider the contempt with which our protagonists are held by their classmates and teachers. Here we are introduced to Dawns' friends, Chiclet and Concetta. Not only do they share Dawns' disdain for all things having to do with school or with family life; they feed off each other in their hatred of normalcy, making (presumably) anything possible. There is a hitch, with Christmas fast approaching our heroines must be on their tip- top best behavior so that they can receive cha-cha heels as gifts. Well, the big day arrives and the "normal" shoes given to her by her parents because "nice girls don't wear cha-cha heels" disappoint Dawn.

After an angry and profane outburst that ends with Dawns' mother pinned under the upended family Christmas tree, she runs away in her peek- a- boo nitie and fuzzy slippers. Hitch-hiking, she is picked up by Earl Peterson, a fat and perverted Lothario whoops' idea of a good place to fuck is on an old mattress at the city dump. Earl is also played by Divine, and this scene is go- fuck- yourself spectacular.

She is impregnated during this very strange interlude, and the idiot bastard child of the masturbatory tryst is born on a couch in a ramshackle flop-house. Dawn names the child Taffy, thus ensuring that the girl will grow up to be worthless trash. In a brilliant montage, Waters shows Divines' growth as a criminal: Rolling drunks, robbing houses, and jiggling her ample ass in a go-go bar. A cutaway when Taffy is about eight years old establishes the child abuse that our loving mother heaps upon her unwanted daughter.

We fade to a later time. Dawn is at an important juncture of her life. Single motherhood has taken its' toll on her, Taffy is an exceptionally bratty and precocious teen-ager now (played superbly by Mink Stole, our favorite Dreamland regular).

She feels the need for love in her life. Through catty gossip ("I'd suck the socks off him in a minute" Concetta says) Dawn learns of a new addition to the squalid Baltimore neighborhood in which she resides. This is Gator, a hunky hair- dresser that lives next door with his fag- hag Aunt Ida, roasted to a turn by the immortal Edith Massey. He works at The Lipstick Beauty Salon, run by a Donna and Donald Dasher (David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pierce) and catering only to "Special Women". Divine has to audition to get her hair done there, and is accepted for her incredible awfulness. Gator is told to "cater to her every whim."

Another montage is offered of the happy couples' whirlwind courtship and marriage. Aunt Ida who worries that this heterosexual thing is "a sick and boring life" for Gator resists all this. She wants him to "turn Nellie and get a nice beautician boyfriend." However, as sound an idea as that is, even Edie cannot change persons' sex preference, and the marriage goes on over her rather bizarre and extreme objections.

We have the last montage of the movie, showing roughly five years of her strange married life. We get a scene of Dawn and Gator having rather perverted sex, and Gator shoves a carrot down Dawns' flexible throat at her moment of orgasm, pissing her off. She goes to the Lipstick to have her hair done, whereupon the Dashers make her their crime model and fire Gator on her whim. This sets off a chain of events, which culminates in a rapid divorce. Ida is furious with Dawn for driving Gator away, who has decided to split Baltimore for Detroit ("I'm going to find happiness within the auto industry"). She announces the news to Taffy, and orders her to burn all of Gators' belongings. In a parting gesture, Gator leaves Dawn with a black eye.

Meanwhile, the Dashers take odd photos of Divine engaging in criminal behavior that "tickles our fancy" and drive her to deeper levels of exhibitionist hysteria than we had ever believed possible. Ida gets her revenge by busting in on one of these ridiculous photo sessions ("Now look like you've just won a prize" Donald the photographer shouts..."Now look horrified at what you've done to your daughter") and throws acid into Dawns' face.

The film now moves at a torrid pace. Taffy leaves home to find and murder her father in a Manson- like overkill attack that leaves us breathless even after repeated viewing. Her face somehow "improved" by Idas' acid attack, Dawn is now the most exciting model alive, not to mention monstrously insane. Taffy has returned home to find Aunt Ida dressed in feathers, gagged, and living in a large cage. Her mother has gone completely over the edge and even Taffy finds the living arrangements to be less than desirable. Her only option being life as a Hare Krishna, "They're always so nice to me when I meet them at the airport" she whines. Donald and Donna convince Dawn that the time is right for her to burst into show business. Backstage immediately preceding her sold- out performance at the Superstar nightclub, the mortified Dawn murders her saffron- robed daughter. Enraged and out of control, Dawn concludes her disgusting nightclub act by shooting wildly into the audience. She goes on the lam and is caught after a brief chase ("I didn't do one thing!" she says to the arresting cops.) Dawn is brought to trial and is convicted on the perjured testimony of the Dashers and Ida, whose' arm she had cut off with an axe in a previous scene. She is sentenced to death in the electric chair and after a brief death row scene; Dawn gives her acceptance speech and is fried to a crisp.

John Waters does not waste a single second of film or a single opportunity for a great line in this entire movie. There are more ideas in five minutes of this than in an entire summer's release from the big studios. This is the ultimate independent film. Waters baits, shocks, and delivers the goods. Fearless actors such as Divine come along once in a lifetime, and JW seized the moment with this one. Everyone involved with this was working at the top of his or her game. Endlessly quotable, Female Trouble is the ultimate sleaze-fest. Borrowing heavily from Hershell Gordon Lewis and Russ Meyers alike, Waters outdid his own heroes. He would be too humble to admit this, but we defy anyone not to agree after seeing it.