Divine leads a troublesome existence in this $25,000 picture. She turns to a life of crime and decadence, seeking to live out her philosophy: "Crime is beauty." Look closely at the Divine rape scene where she plays both rapist and victim. Climax of her deviant ways comes with her unusual night club act, for which the law shows no mercy. Trashy, campy; for die-hard Waters fans.
Divine is Dawn Davinport; a shallow, obnoxious and ill-tempered high-school student in the early sixties who throws a fit on Christmas for not having received her desired gift (a pair of cha-cha heels). The tantrum ends with Christmas tree being toppled on her mother and Dawn running away from home. The rest of the film follows her hilarious and often repulsive excipades as she gets knock-up by an overweight degenerate (also played by Divine), gets a job as a glamour model for a couple of crime-loving beauticians and encounters more of the types of characters that only writer/directer John Waters could ever come up with. A hysterically campy satire on the shallow wold of beauty and fashion as well as the excessive glamorization of crime is as relevant today as it is now. John Waters also wrote the theme-song (which is sung by Divine). Also available in a edited R-rated version.