Rating: 
Summary: Ha, ha, ha, ha-happy go lucky me!
Review: John Waters' Pecker is now available as part of the double DVD set with Hairspray so I recommend making it part of your collection. Why this set is called John Waters: Collection #1 is a little odd since these two are his later "mainstream" films and not the trashy no budget stuff starring Divine that put Waters on the map. Still, Pink Flamingos and others are available in other collections on DVD so who cares what number they are! Anyway, Eddie Furlong plays Pecker, a young man who loves taking pictures of everything including all of his unique friends and family as well as the scenery of Baltimore. After holding a small exhibit of his photos in the sandwich shop he works in an art promoter from NY sees his photo of a stripper's pubic hair and wants to put on an exhibit of Pecker's work in NY. Pecker becomes the hottest art photographer in NY, but at the expence of his family and friends. He decides to turn it all around and give the NY art crowd a taste of their own medicine. The film, like most of Waters' work is filled with colorful and strange characters. First, there's Pecker's family: His Dad runs a local pub right across the street from a lesbian strip club, his sister is the bartender/MC of a gay nightclub featuring male dancers, his Mom runs the local thrift shop and helps the homeless with new outfits ("Don't be afraid of fashion"), his other sister, Little Chrissy, is addicted to sugar, and his Grandma or Mi Mama runs a pit beef stand and has a doll of Mary, Mother of God, who she speaks through (Full of Grace!). Then there is Shelly (Christina Ricci), Pecker's girlfriend who runs the local laundromat and is so obsessed with cleanliness and laundromat policies that she is nicknamed the "stain goddess". Pecker also has a best friend, Matt, who is the best thief in town. One of the funniest scenes is where Pecker and Matt run through a grocery store and Pecker photographs Matt placing particular items into the carts of unsuspecting shoppers. I love the weight lifter who got the Preparation H - "There is nothing wrong with my butt!". Pecker is a lot of fun and even though its rated R, in a strange way its a family film with a good message: You don't have to be an a-hole to be talented and you also don't have to go to NY...you can stay right in Baltimore! The soundtrack is another plus...lots of hilarious and catchy songs. Pecker is a winner! Hey, thats sounds dirty!
Rating: 
Summary: not too good
Review: These reviews are interesting. I cannot believe that so many people LOVED this movie as much as they did. I guess there is a certain audience for it, but I'd have to agree with those that said it was a let down. Too unbelievable of a plot. Too many coincidences (even for a movie). Cute characters (at times), but overall not especially entertaining. The producer should have paid a bit more attention to details such as the fact that many of the photos that Pecker supposedly took could not have been shot with the lens that he had on. Close ups from several feet away require a different lens. And how is it that the strip club happened to have a clear patch in the window covering that went unnoticed from the inside? Rent it first, then decide to buy it or not.
Rating: 
Summary: An amusing comedy with heart (and a few gross outs)
Review: John Waters returns with this amusingly wacky, cheerful semi-autobiograpical comedy with a heart. Edward Furlong has one of his best roles as the title character (so named by his eccentric grandmother because he "pecks" at his food) who always carries a camera with him to photograph life as he sees it. Though at first this appears to be an almost obsessive-compulsive fixation he has, Pecker gradually mounts his own photo exhibition and is soon discovered by a prominent NY art dealer and finds himself on his way to fame and fortune, but this has its downside as some of his "subjects" (including his girlfriend, played by Christina Ricci) are offended by Pecker's work and predictably want their cut of his royalties.
As expected Waters has created some wonderfully kooky characters; among them his grandmother who does a lame ventriloquist's act with a statue of the Virgin Mary, actually believing she is communicating with her; as well as his sister's (or is it brother's?) gay bar and the male strippers who work there. While the movie is far from being a masterpiece it is always entertaining. Waters still manages to add his offensive touches, but they are a long way from matching his brilliant classic PINK FLAMINGOS. Anybody curious in learning about "tea-bagging" or "Dutch ovens" should check this out. Well worth a look.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Lil Crissy, a Rolled up Twenty, and a Trail of Green Peas
Review: Pecker is a small town happy-go-lucky kinda guy who loves taking pictures... of life when it's just slighty off kilter and "out of focus" During his first exhibit, held at his workplace, a local burger barn, he's discovered by a an ultra-urban art-savvy gallery owner from New York City. She brings his work to her gallery someplace in SOHO and he becomes an instant celebrity. But wait, while all the fancy people in the big city laugh at the photos of small town laundry maids and sugar shocked 'lil Crissy - Pecker takes a few snaps for his next exhibit and turns the tables on the fabuart folks from NYC. A true slice of life from many perspectives. It's quite wonderful and not the John Waters you might otherwise tend to avoid. ;)
Rating:
Summary: Sigh, snicker and giggle...
Review: The story deserves a big sigh'. It's pretty much nothing you haven't seen before. A young man whose family nickname is 'Pecker' is surprised with the fame and fortune that comes with his newly-discovered talent for photography. He struggles with the balancing act between art and commercialism. But the movie begins and you start to snicker and giggle. The characters of the story make the movie hilarious. They are so extremely extraordinary that you can't help but to laugh. There's the laundry-mat girl who takes her job of monitoring the business so seriously that she's fraught with worry when away from her job. There's the little sister with a manic obsession for carbohydrate consumption. Grandma is convinced that no one notices that her ventriloquist talents are the cause for her statue of the Blessed Virgin to speak. And even kind-hearted Mom, The Goddess of Thrift is bound and determined to provide support for all homeless people of the world.
Rating:
Summary: Pecker rocks my world!
Review: John Waters is pure genius. Pecker is my favorite movie ever-does a fiunnier movie even exist?!? I think not. The story seems so simple at first, but the characters are incredibly complex and give the film a depth and hilarity which is absent in most "Hollywood blockbusters." I bought this video for my husband for Christmas, and we watch it almost every day. And though this confession might reveal our true dorkiness, I must admit we're in the process of memorizing every line along (with my three younger brothers and other friends) so we all can go out and not say anything the whole night except for lines from Pecker, from start to finish. FULL OF GRACE! FULL OF GRACE!
Rating:
Summary: Full of Grace! Full of Grace!
Review: This surprisingly earnest film took me at least three viewings to appreciate. Though I have a soft spot in my head for Waters' classic Divine films, the post-Divine ("Cry Baby" onward) movies aren't as ballsy or infectiously funny in my opinion. "Pecker" did sink in with me, though. I grudge the obligatory star power of Lili Taylor and Indie Waif Christina Ricci, low-wattage that it may be. Otherwise, the casting and performances in "Pecker" are on target. Mary Kay Place is fretful and yet blissfully sedate as the thrift store maven; a role that seems an appropriate homage to Waters' long time friend and star, Edith Massey. Martha Plimpton plays the ultimate fag hag ("My life is trade!") with dizzy abandon. Ed Furlong's Pecker (um, keep reading) is the most functional idiot savant imagineable...a tireless servant to the "art" all around, and completely oblivious to social norms and responsibilities. Despite a feel-good ending that smooths over a fair number of conflicts, "Pecker" is a funny and satisfying film. The rabid idiosyncrasies of Waters' characters play off each other with the kind of manic glee you can find in "Pink Flamingos" or even "Polyester." The 'turnabout' plot actually works, if you take a good look at some of Pecks' pics from his NYC premiere. For those who think Waters is getting 'more commercial,' this film has rats having sex, "tea- bagging," "The Pelt Room," and a Mother Mary ventriloquist doll. (FYI: the scenes with the latter are hysterical, though possibly offensive to some viewers.) It might seem like plain old raunch on the surface, but this is the kind of bad taste that deserves a laugh. I don't know if this demented comedy is truly "accessible" to non-fans, but it's going on my "A" shelf. J
Rating:
Summary: Pick This Pack of Pecker
Review: The reviews are generally quite good. But I have something to add: Edward Furlong is so intensely sweet in this role it seems we are looking at a teenaged John Waters- I think too many viewers miss this point. I notice comments about the film sagging- it does for a reason. Pecker's life and circumstances are actually sagging- only a jaded hypocrite wouldn't see it. The vengeance scene at the end is WONDERFUL, and so is the implication (watch for it) that Pecker REALLY deserves his name. It is a fabulous study of the person who would rather lose sleep than art, and what the consequences can be. Also, viewers should understand that Waters is paying homage to his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland- the characters are not brazenly or stupidly portrayed, but shown as the good, gentle Southerners they really are.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet and funny
Review: Sweet, funny story of a photographer whose hobby finds him snapping photos of the seemier side of life. Now available in a 2-disc package with John Waters' "Hairspray", complete with new audio commentary from Waters himself, making that set the better value.
Rating: 
Summary: Weird, frequently disgusting and torture to sit through
Review: This movie is terrible. I barely made it through the first hour. Don't waste your money on it.
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