Back to trending
Desperate Living

Desperate Living

Comedy · Crime · 1977

After killing her husband, Peggy Gravel and her murderous maid Grizelda wind up in the crazy town of Mortville, where Queen Carlotta presides over a sleazy collection of misfits.

Movie details

Desperate Living

“It isn't very pretty…”

1977 Comedy · Crime 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

After killing her husband, Peggy Gravel and her murderous maid Grizelda wind up in the crazy town of Mortville, where Queen Carlotta presides over a sleazy collection of misfits.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Desperate Living?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Pink Flamingos

Pink Flamingos

Comedy · 1972

Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".

68 Kill

68 Kill

Comedy · 2017

Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.

Novocaine

Novocaine

Comedy · 2001

A dentist finds himself a murder suspect after a sexy patient seduces him into prescribing her drugs.

Female Trouble

Female Trouble

Comedy · 1976

Teenage delinquent Dawn Davenport, incensed after her parents do not give her the cha-cha heels she wanted for Christmas, runs away from home. After an illegitimate child and hairstylist husband bring her more misery, she's enticed into a life of crime when the owners of her husband's salon promise her fame and fortune.

Who Is Cletis Tout?

Who Is Cletis Tout?

Action · 2001

With a hitman’s gun aimed at him, Finch tells the story of how he broke out of jail, fell in love, and took the identity of a man wanted by the Mafia.

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Action · 1970

Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley, who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. However, the police, O'Malley, and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

Sci-fi · 1971

In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?

In the Blood

In the Blood

Action · 2014

When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.

Hobo with a Shotgun

Hobo with a Shotgun

Crime · 2011

A vigilante homeless man pulls into a new city and finds himself trapped in urban chaos, a city where crime rules and where the city's crime boss reigns. Seeing an urban landscape filled with armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes and even a pedophile Santa, the Hobo goes about bringing justice to the city the best way he knows how - with a 20-gauge shotgun. Mayhem ensues when he tries to make things better for the future generation. Street justice will indeed prevail.

Accident Man

Accident Man

Action · 2018

Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Waters

Written by

John Waters

Liz Renay

Liz Renay

Muffy St. Jacques

Mink Stole

Mink Stole

Peggy Gravel

Susan Lowe

Susan Lowe

Mole McHenry

Edith Massey

Edith Massey

Queen Carlotta

Mary Vivian Pearce

Mary Vivian Pearce

Princess Coo-Coo

Jean Hill

Jean Hill

Grizelda Brown

Brook Yeaton

Brook Yeaton

Bosley Jr.

Court is in session

Put Desperate Living on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.