Review – Cecil B. Demented

Who would have thought that after all these years John Waters would still harbor such animosity toward the Maryland Film Commission? The plot here is pure Patty Hearst (who has a small role in the film): a movie star is kidnapped by a cadre of indie-film-making terrorists and forced to act in their magnum opus. In several ways this production marks a return to Waters’ roots, showing his early talent for light-hearted absurdism and shock value. It also includes a number of art film in-jokes and a handful of celebrity cameos. The movie’s only serious flaw is that sometimes it tends to get just a bit heavy handed, the message occasionally overcoming the charming, silly sense of humor that serves at the movie’s major strength. Worth seeing