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Synopsis: Movie star Honey Whitlock is kidnapped at the premier of her new movie and is pressed into acting in a movie composed by insane cinematic terrorist Cecil B. Demented and his ragtag band of cinema misfits. The movie consists of filming a number of raids on bourgeoisie mainstream cinema and demands that Whitlock participate in terrorist acts against the film establishment. Eventually, she becomes subverted to the cause. The filming climaxes at a drive-in movie where the authorities corner Cecil and his followers and gun him down, even as principal photography finishes.

Demented Forever: The title character of this film is derived from a long ago description of director John Waters. Cecil is a stand in for Waters himself. In fact both Cecil B. Demented and the movie within a movie are apt metaphors for Waters's career to date. To wit, both Waters and Cecil are saddled with fading, marginal stars (as has been the case for many of Waters's movies), both Waters and Cecil trade on shock value, and both Waters and Cecil have more ideas than craftsmanship. This last is an interesting phenomenon, since the Hollywood instrumentality that Waters is inveighing against usually has more craftsmanship than ideas. The end result is much the same, though. Cecil B. Demented isn't very good. Most of Waters's movies aren't very good. But the ideas in some of them--most of them, maybe--are awfully funny.

Imp of the Perverse: I'll admit it, I took perverse enjoyment from Waters's savaging of Patch Adams (the new DIRECTOR'S cut!) and the audience that made it a hit. That sort of thing deserves everything Waters wants to throw at it. It's fun to see Waters elevate the kung-fu movie and the porno movie over Hollywood pablum like Some Kind of Happiness (the fictional Honey Whitlock film that Waters premiers at heart benefit in Baltimore), a movie that Waters's mouthpiece, Cecil, claims that nobody wanted in the first place. There is even a certain prurient interest in seeing Alicia Witt play unregenerate porno star, Cherish (one wonders, given Waters's past association with Cherish's real life model, Traci Lords, why Lords herself isn't playing this role). It's even fun to watch Waters restage elements of the Patty Hearst kidnapping in a movie in which Patricia Hearst herself appears. Waters has always understood the difference between good bad taste and bad bad taste and still knows that the line between them is fuzzy. Here, he skirts right up to the border. But the story linking these elements is ridiculous.

Performances: Waters is a TERRIBLE director of actors. I suspect that he even ENCOURAGES his actors to give broad, amateurish performances. As a result, good actors like Stephen Dourff and Alicia Witt founder with Waters's outrageous dialogue and dubious choice of readings. Melanie Griffith, surprisingly enough, gives her most engaging performance in years. Maybe she needed Waters to encourage her to loosen up. Or maybe she is actually a true believer in Cecil's view of the movies. Hard to tell from the evidence on the screen.

Late for the Late Show: I have to admit that I admire Waters for continuing to make Midnight Movies long after the Midnight Movie Show folded up and blew away. Hell, I like Waters's movies in small doses. I even like Cecil B. Demented. But I'm not going to say that it's good based only on its charm and its satirical viewpoint. It's NOT good. Most of Waters's movies are NOT good. But, God love him, I hope he keeps right on making them...