Edward Furlong, having dropped a few octaves since the days of Terminator 2 ("Loweur me en to de larva Eddie" "I order you not to go.... I order you not to goooo...booo...hoo"), plays Pecker, a nice enough young lad who becomes obsessed with photography. It becomes apparent that perhaps this new pastime is partially to bring him relief from his over-the-top family. His little sister Chrissy (Lauren Hulsey) is addicted to sugar, his older sister works for The Fudge Palace, a gay strip bar; and his grandma (Jean Schertler) is apparently on a one-to-one basis with the Virgin Mary. His girlfriend, Shelly (Christina Ricci) is no better, she is obsessed with the running of her laundromat, right down to the gritty details. Everything begins to change for Pecker when his photos are discovered by a New York art dealer and he starts on his way to fame and fortune.
Directed by John Waters, the mind behind the infamously offensive Pink Flamingoes, Pecker contains a number of evocative shots and concepts, none of which, however, are really offensive enough to earn the film a reputation for that kind of thing. Rather, the strength of the film lies in the deluge of often amusing and always novel characters surrounding Pecker, who himself is a little deadpan (perhaps to contrast). I will let you find out for yourself the way his family came to call him Pecker. I can assure you that the explanation, just like this film, is probably significantly less offensive than one imagines.

The ANU Film Group is pleased to present the love child of a democratic film-selection process and the warped sense of humour of those who showed up on voting night - a big-screen presentation of John Water's infamous Pink Flamingoes. If you know of this film, you can no doubt make up your mind whether you would like to work this experience into your schedule. For those who are not so familiar, it is customary that I use this space at hand, and your attention, to explain. Babs Johnson (Devine) is a 300- pound thingamajig who lives in a trailer with his son (Danny Mills), mother (Edith Massey) and some sort of partner going by the name of Cotton (Mary Vivian Pierce). Not that it really matters, but the story is that these fine folk are competing with some other baby-selling, heroin-pushing family for the sought after title of the filthiest person alive.
What ensues is not for the weak at heart. Indeed, for a while, the office of Film and Literature Classification did not deem this film suitable for any audience, banning Pink Flamingoes outright in Australia. So if graphic depictions of all sorts of sexual perversions (and then some) do not quite float your boat, short of taking a friend along to tell you when you may look again, you may wish to sit this one out. That said, the film has a huge cult following and is praised by many (albeit a little twisted) critics for being delightfully cheesy, unique, and, yes, even at times clever cinema. I'm afraid I can't agree. As far as I am concerned, you're all perverts, taking in carnal trash like this. I'm off to watch re-runs of 'Family Ties'. Call me when it's all over.