Polyester

Polyester (1981) is John Waters at his most garish and gleefully subversive, a trash classic that revels in the sordid details of its protagonist's miseries. Francine Fishpaw, a character so beleaguered she could break hearts and inspire pity in a stone, navigates a home life defined by neglect, infidelity, and juvenile delinquency. Her path to ruin is paved with alcohol, culminating in a surreal turn of events that introduces Todd Tomorrow, a romantic deus ex machina. Waters’s audacious touch extends to sensory gimmicks like the "Odorama" scratch-and-sniff cards, inviting audiences to partake in Francine’s odiferous descent.