I AM DIVINE

Pop quiz: which celebrity can boast achievements in all three of the following categories: (a) eating dog faeces in the name of entertainment, (b) sucking their onscreen son off on camera and (c) performing their hit single on BBC1's onetime flagship family show, 'Top of the Pops'?

Nope, not Britney Spears. The answer is Baltimore-born Harris Glen Milstead, better known to fans the world over as the inimitable Divine.

Gay icon, fleeting pop star, drag queen template, a name on the Hollywood walk of fame and - of course - lead actor/actress of some of the most infamous trash films of all time: a decent cinematic retrospective on Divine was long overdue. We can thank prolific featurette director Jeffrey Schwarz for finally righting this wrong.

Schwarz's 90-minute feature is far-reaching in that it covers all aspects of Milstead's life and career.

Following footage of the HAIRSPRAY premiere in 1988 we begin, logically, with a look back at his humble beginnings as a young lad called Glen by his family who's been diagnosed by a paediatrician as being more feminine than masculine, and got beat up regularly at school as a result. Early photos of him as a lad add a poignant touch, while the moment when his aged mother Frances' voice cracks as she tells the camera how she assured him she'd always love him even if he was homosexual is genuinely sad.

From there, we learn of the six years he spent dating a girl, his early dietary problems and his inevitable change when, as a young man, he met a group of LSD-dropping people including fellow hairdresser David Lochary and a then-unknown filmmaker by the name of John Waters.

The likes of Waters, actress Mink Stole and even Divine himself (via archive video interview footage) offer great insights into the making of seminal trash classics such as MULTIPLE MANIACS, PINK FLAMINGOS (of course, the climactic scene of unsimulated shit-eating gets special coverage) and - surely one of the greatest films of all time - FEMALE TROUBLE. Milstead even confesses to loving the latter's lead character, Dawn Davenport, recognising how similar she was to him as an adolescent.

Former matinee idol Tab Hunter looks back fondly upon acting alongside Divine in POLYESTER, while Waters casually accepts the credit for giving Milstead's alter-ego her name and image - though it was mate Lochary who first encouraged him to drag up.

LUST IN THE DUST continued the Hunter/Divine onscreen affair, but saw Divine branch away from Waters for direction. It gets but a brief mention here; more illuminating is footage from Alan Rudolph's TROUBLE IN MIND, which helps illustrate how Milstead surprisingly saw his Divine persona/appearance as a job and was desperate to make it as a conventional male actor.

In-between the films - we get some nice clips of each one, as well as a few priceless moments of behind-the-scenes footage including Waters directing Milstead towards chomping down on canine turd - we also get rare glimpses of Divine's forays into stage (productions such as 'Women Behind Bars' and 'The Neon Woman'), stand-up - "suck my fat ass" being a typical retort to hecklers - and even his short-lived pop career.

However, behind the steadily increasing glamour, the cracks begin to surface. "He really was a pothead more than you could ever imagine" reveals Waters without a hint of cattiness. Tales of addictions to shopping, soft drugs and food ensue - right up until the rising star's death at the tender age of 42.

Village Voice scribe Michael Musto, photographer friend Greg Gorman, former agent Belle Gwendling, and sometime co-star Rikki Lake are among others who add further insight along the way, in what comes across as a superbly researched, heartfelt and all-encompassing review of this vulnerable human being's life. What makes it all the more moving is that all who got close to Divine refer to him (or "her" as some drag queen interviewees prefer) as a thoroughly nice person.

Peppered with clips from relevant films, songs and performances, this is mainly a brisk 'talking head' type affair but does benefit from slick production values and brisk editing. It's never boring; the subject matter is fascinating: this really is one of the best celebrity documentaries I've seen. And it'll leave you gagging to revisit those classic, iconic cult sickies that Divine and Waters made in the 70s - even if Milstead is now on record as striving to move away from them and produce something more commercially viable...

I AM DIVINE opens in selected cinemas on July 18th and is also available On Demand from the same date, ahead of a DVD release scheduled in due course from Peccadillo Pictures. Whichever way you see it, it comes highly recommended.

Review by Stuart Willis