Desperate Living & Hairspray

“Only Criterion could come up with the crazy but inspired idea to re-release DESPERATE LIVING and HAIRSPRAY at the same time. DESPERATE LIVING, once thought to be my ugliest and angriest film, now ludicrously but beautifully restored in 4k suddenly makes penis envy seem like a new and enchanted element in the joyous fairytale I always intended this film to be.  HAIRSPRAY, my happy, happy movie became a trojan horse that snuck in middle America without the public realizing it was my most subversive work. But now, in the newly released bonus footage that was wisely cut out of the original, you can see the “bad” Tracy; the girl who might feel at home in Mortville in DESPERATE LIVING if she hadn’t found teen stardom by integrating a TV dance show.

Tracy Turnblad, Mole McHenry – neither racists nor fascists could stop either one of them and they’re back for a double feature that gives new meaning to the tagline “it isn’t very pretty”. Sure it is if your hair is high enough. Nobody’s a loser if you take chances. Big ones. Ugly ones. Desperate ones! Every day is backwards day. Hi stupid! Hi ugly! Let’s dance!” -John Waters