A man defecates into a woman's purse near the end of A Dirty Shame. This is heartening news to true fans of John Waters, most of whom feared the worst since Hairspray won a family-type following on Broadway. Lurid and offensive in all the best ways, A Dirty Shame marks a return to classic, Pink Flamingos-type Waters work.

Described by the filmmaker as, "A comedy based on what would happen if your mother or your aunt tuned into a 'ho in your own neighbourhood," A Dirty Shame stars Tracey Ullman as uptight housewife Sylvia Stickles.

Sylvia gets hit in the head, an accident that transforms her into a sex addict. She is not alone -- her miraculous switch from prude to perv is celebrated by Ray Ray (Johnny Knoxville), a local tow-truck driver and leader of the head-injured sex fiends. Ray Ray informs Sylvia that she is the 12th such person to join his group, an apostle-like number that adds a messianic element to the proceedings. Or maybe not.

A Dirty Shame features Selma Blair as Sylvia's daughter, another head injury celebrant and the woman with the largest breasts in America. Also in the cast are Chris Isaak as Sylvia's husband and Suzanne Shepherd as Sylvia's mom, along with such Waters' regulars as Mink Stole, Patricia Hearst, Channing Wilroy and Jean Hill. The film was, of course, shot in Waters' home town of Baltimore.

A Dirty Shame centres on the bluecollar area of Harford Road and the battle between the sex fiends and the disapproving "neuters" -- those who are vehemently anti-sex and who hold decency rallies. The landscape reflects the urban turmoil with plenty of suggestive tree shapes and penis-shaped plantings; it's all pretty childish.

Graced by a bizarre soundtrack that includes obscure party songs from the 1950s (Eager Beaver Baby and The Pussy Cat Song among them, unless this is all a hoax), A Dirty Shame includes fetish themes and this sort of dialogue:

"You got the devil in your cervix."

Irresistible or what?

(This film is rated 18-A)

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