Polyester

Set in a trashy suburb of Baltimore, Polyester follows Francine Fishpaw, a weary housewife with a nose for scents and a life spiraling under the weight of a cheating husband who shoots smut, a parasite of a mother, and two troublemaking kids. She drinks to cope as her picture perfect world cracks wide open. Hope arrives in the form of a stranger named Todd Tomorrow, offering a glittering escape from her mounting chaos. The film famously invited audiences to scratch and sniff along with the action using Odorama cards, turning viewing into a tactile, rank experience. Waters keeps the satire sharp while letting the melodrama spill into moments of camp. Divine's performance anchors the chaos with grit and scandal, unapologetically.

Directed by John Waters, Polyester arrived in 1981 as his own screenwritten satire rather than an adaptation, joining Waters's Baltimore based carnival of excess. Divine stars as Francine alongside Tab Hunter and Edith Massey. A bold, subversive, celebratory misfit indeed.

Polyester cost about $300,000 to make and went on to earn roughly $1,120,000 worldwide, a modest but solid return that reinforced Waters's cult appeal rather than mainstream hit status. The film found many fans in the art house circuit globally.

Polyester left a lasting cultural footprint thanks to the Odorama scratch-and-sniff gimmick that invited audience participation and added a sensory punch to the satire. It cemented Divine as a fearless screen icon and reinforced Waters's reputation for gleeful transgression within American cult cinema. Its outrageous visuals inspired later midnight crowds.

Critics were split but often admired the film's audacity and its playful menace. The story skewers suburban emptiness, consumer culture, and female resilience, using over the top humor to reveal underlying fragility. Waters leans into satire while letting the cast own their chaos. It remains a touchstone for fans today.