Sylvia Stickles (Tracy Ulman) is a normal everyday housewife and mother: devoid of any sexual drive and unwilling to put up with even the thought of amorous activity. Her husband Vaughn (Chris Isaak) has to retreat to the bathroom with dirty magazines anytime the urge hits him. Her daughter Caprice (Selma Blair) spends her time locked up under house arrest when she’s not down at the local bar exposing her bulbous bosoms for colorful characters like Fat Fuck Frank.

Things soon take a swift turn as a concussion instantaneously changes Sylvia from a cold convince store worker into a raving, leopard print wearing, cunnilingus bottom. With the help of sex savior and part time mechanic Ray-Ray (Johnny Knoxville) and his extensive gang of sexual fetishists including adult babies, bears, ‘sploshers,’ and even her own daughter, Sylvia will bring upon a sexual revolution that will change not only her home town, but the entire world.

While not John Waters’ return to form many were hoping for, A Dirty Shame turns out to be an entertaining, if only slight, hybrid of old-school Waters and the John Waters of today. The film is able to deliver all sorts of reprehensible dialogue, but in a cheerful tone… like a giddy five-year-old boy who knows a secret but needs to tell every person he comes in contact with. Yet, it was the language by itself that earned the film an NC-17 rating. While there might be a few flashes of full frontal nudity, very little actual sex is present in the film.

However while most of the film is a campy romp, it does have a few glaring problems. The third act of the film devolves into a perverted parody of Night of the Living Dead (which Waters admits was an inspiration on the commentary track), and the film retreads Waters’ previous film Cecil B. Demented at times. The whole idea of a gang of sexual fetishists is a direct lift from The Sprockets of Cecil B., right down to the introduction scene.

On a personal note, even with Shame’s laundry list of perversion, there was only one sexual act named in this movie that I couldn’t define right off the top of my head. It made me feel like a terrible person. So keep track of how many you can recognize and wash yourself under a cold shower accordingly.

However if the film hits a high mark, it’s certainly the stellar cast. Tracy Ullman manages to pull off dual personalities (a trio, if you count her talking vagina) with what seems to be a great deal of joy. Johnny Knoxville is in his trashy element and seems to be right at home. It’s easy to see how the man would fit in perfectly in any of Waters’ previous garbage epics. Chris Isaak works well as a proper straight man and Selma Blair continues her streak of choosing rather interesting roles.

Also, something must be said for Suzanne Shepherd as Big Ethel. Even in a well-played and celebrity-filled movie (well, as celebrity-filled as a John Waters film can afford,) Shepherd manages to upstage everyone as a panicked neuter who can’t believe a single thing she’s hearing. She delivers her lines beautifully, probably due to the sincere shock of the dialogue. Anyone who can deliver dialogue like “[homosexuals] eat life, you know… SPERM!” with a straight face earns a place in my heart. Shepherd is Waters’ new Edith Massey, and I pray he uses her in everything he does.

Image Quality
New Line continues to put out decent transfers, and it could be easily said that this is John Waters’ best looking film to date. The image is fairly free from grain, even during the extensive nighttime setting that comprises the final third of the film. There are a few minimal spots to be found; for some reason mostly present in the infamous Hokey Pokey scene.

Sound Quality
Seeing as how most of the film’s comedy is centered around dialogue, the 5.1 track is serviceable. The novelty tune-filled music soundtrack comes through loud and clear through the speakers, which is really the only time when the surround is active.

Extras 
For some unexplained reason, the back of the case only lists two extras. While it may sound rather lacking, the truth is that this DVD package is what John Waters fans have been waiting for when it comes to bonus features, even if the movie didn’t meet expectations.

Start off with a screen-specific commentary by John Waters -- if you’ve heard any of his previous commentary work you know exactly what to expect: Entertainment on par, if not better than the film itself. Not only is Waters full of facts, trivia and stories, he is especially eager to explain all the fetishes included in the film, even the ones not explained in the film (Note: you’ll probably wish you never knew what ‘blossoms’ were).

A second, non-screen specific commentary is also included that features Pat Moran (Casting director, Associate Producer), Vincent Peranio (Production Designer), Van Smith (Costume Designer), Brook Yeaton (Property Master) and Debra Donaldson (Location Manager). This commentary is equally as entertaining as Water’s since most of the people have been working with John since day one and are full of stories about every facet of the film.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s an 82 minute documentary, All the Dirt on A Dirty Shame, which not only works as a documentary on the making of the film, but as a history lesson on Waters’ film work. Most of the cast is interviewed and are cheerful and casual, right down to Tracy Ullman busting Johnny Knoxville for trying to pull the co-star-interrupts-actor’s-EPK-interview cliché.

There is a single deleted scene that is viewable either with the documentary or separately -- It’s simply a 21 second outtake of Johnny Knoxville doing something with his robotic genitalia. While the clip is short, Knoxville’s actions are so delightful that it has John Waters chuckling out “No no no no!” in the background.

There’s also the green band theatrical trailer for the film itself, along with trailers for Pecker and Pink Flamingos.

If you’ve got DVD-Rom access, there is a glossary of terms used in the film, along with a script-to-screen option that features one or two scenes that did not show up in the final film.

Overall
If you ever wanted to see a light-hearted, NC-17 rated film, this would be it. While not on the level of something like Pink Flamingos or Desperate Living, you could think to yourself, “Hey, at least it’s not Cecil B. Demented.” Watch it with someone you love. Or someone who won’t be frightened over the fact that you know what ‘blossoms’ are.