Film: Double Bill, John Waters

John Waters, Director Of `Pecker', Currently On Release, On His Ideal Cinematic Pairing

The Faculty (Robert Rodriguez, 1998)

Hurlyburly(Anthony Drazen, 1998)

These Movies are supposedly at opposite ends of the spectrum, which is the real reason I go to the cinema. I love extremes, so they would show as a double bill at the John Waters Theatre, if there were one. I don't think they would be a commercial success.

The Faculty is a teen movie, almost. It's a big, new film about aliens invading teachers, and it's the best high-school concept I have heard in a long time: suppose teachers really were from another planet. The cast are snotty, sexy kids with good haircuts - what more could you ask for in a trashy movie?

Often when something is meant to be trash it tries too hard. I am thinking of films such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, also written by Kevin Williamson. The Faculty is his best teen-trash flick: it should win an Oscar for best haircuts. There is one for make-up, after all, and hair is so important in Hollywood.

Hurlyburly, another new film, shows the worst side of homosexuality. The acting is absolutely fabulous; it's torture to spend two hours with these misogynistic, coke-snorting Eighties monsters.

It's based on a very hip play by David Rabe. And it's one of the best of a genre that I adore: the love-to-hate-LA type. It's an art film in the best sense of the word, the way they used to be. It's well-acted and it's not MTV-paced. It's a real downer. I always get invigorated by depressing films.

These two movies are not mainstream. One is commercially intelligent, the other is intelligent in a very unpleasant way. Most movie-goers don't enjoy both qualities. You could be punched in the face for recommending either of these two movies. Even my friends probably wouldn't like both.