I Am Divine

By: Raymond Murray
In-House Review - Jul 23 2013

The indie film world (and gay America) was forever changed when chubby Baltimore misfit Harris Glenn Milstead met scrawny aspiring filmmaker John Waters. With John behind the camera and Glen - now transformed into Divine, an exceedingly large, outrageously attired, almost demonic drag queen - in front of it, the two would rewrite American cult cinema.

Divine's persona exploded on the screen where she (ferociously) played many unforgettable roles - including the pot-smoking, misunderstood teen hippie Diane in the short The Diane Linkletter Story (check it out on YouTube) and the -toting, son-blowing, dog shit-eating Babs Johnson (a.k.a. "the filthiest person in the world") in Pink Flamingos. She was also by a gigantic lobster in Multiple Maniacs and played the unrepentant, murderous teen delinquent Dawn Davenport in Lake.

Shortly after these films, a toned-down Divine slyly invaded Middle America as put-upon suburban housewife Francine Fishpaw - who finds love in the arms of former matinee idol Tab Hunter in Polyester - and as the hair-rollers and housecoat-wearing mother in Hairspray.

This rousing, loving tribute to this iconic gay queen is filled with hilarious footage from many of her films, touching interviews with family, friends and co-workers. It also features must-see footage of her time with the The Cockettes, live performances ("Women Behind Bars") and several of her disco performances. All-in-all, I Am Divine offers an eye-opening look at a larger-than-life American original.

By: Amos Lassen

"I Am Divine"

A Divine Story

Amos Lassen

Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead) is a legend. Here in Jeffrey Schwarz's film we learn about her life and how Divine, the character, morphed into Divine, the person. (I am not exactly sure which pronouns to use so I probably will go back and forth between the masculine and the feminine. The character of Divine was a woman; the person Divine was a man). Born in 1945, Milstead grew up in Baltimore. As a kid, he was bullied at school so he became a loner who seems to be what he wanted anyway. His doctor told his mother that he seemed to have more female traits than male and even though his mother despaired, she never stopped loving her son. However, when he came out, his mother did not love him unconditionally. Milstead began doing hair and he discovered drag which indirectly led him to moviemaker John Waters and a star was born. Waters and Milstead became fast friends and created a working relationship-Milstead took to the drag character that he named Divine and he became Waters' greatest inspiration. Waters coaxed him to always be even more outrageous. As Water was recognized as a filmmaker, Divine received invitations from all over and she moves to San Francisco to be on stage with The Cockettes, a drag troupe. He next moved to New York City where he started a record career. Perhaps the role that made him the most famous was as Divine in the classic film of bad taste "Pink Flamingos". He also received offers to appear in non-Waters films and even a television gig on "Married with Children". Unfortunately he had a heart attack in his motel room and died the night before filming was to start.

The Divine we see in this documentary is not a tragic gay hero. She had her share of bad times but she also had many good ones. We see her here with her flaws yet she was a hard worker who found success and then died before her time was up. She is a protagonist who triumphs and who gained success because she worked so hard. She was a professional in her dealings about her career and helped others find their ways.

Divine loved her marijuana and spent a lot of money, both on herself and for gifts for her friends. She never did any exercise and she seemed to thrive on junk food. Her most unhappy period was when she was estranged from her family and was often depressed because she felt that she was typecast as her character. The documentary shows how Divine and John Waters worked together and we see the complexities that were present in her.

Divine survived as an outsider, a person who embraced who she is and this is a major theme in the film. It is with this idea that the movie moves forward. I remember seeing Divine in person when I lived in Israel. She came to the only bar that was "semi-gay" and danced and dances. Those at the bar convinced her to stand on the piano and sing her big hit, "Walk Like a Man" and it was really something to see this drag queen of epic proportions as she gyrated to the beat of the song. However, she was a bit too heavy for that piano and it came tumbling down with Divine holding on. I heard that she replaced the piano. She was truly one-of-a-kind, a caricature who managed to get away with doing what she wanted to do. Schwarz gives us quite a movie-those who knew Divine will welcome one more chance to see her and those who did not know her will become aware of what they have missed.