I AM DIVINE (2013) Jeffrey Schwartz

Biopics are becoming a real genre, they are shot with skill and excellent scripts, seen and appreciated by the public and presented at film festivals.

Among these there is certainly a place for this documentary on Divine: performer, actor/actress, singer, avant-garde artist, theatre interpreter.

In the documentary itself, some of the witnesses refer to it as “ he ,” others as “ she .” Given that Glen ( his real name ) also wanted male parts and that Divine was just his character, I will refer to it as “ he .”

The film follows the artist's life chronologically, from his escape from the provinces to his arrival in San Francisco, where he would establish himself. Witty anecdotes are interwoven with artistic information, images, and videos about his career. All of this is tied together by the testimonies of those close to him, especially his mother and John Waters .

It's important to immediately emphasize one fact: Divine isn't a TV transvestite or a drag queen for the general public. Divine was a star of the American underground scene, with a punk and innovative attitude, appearing in transgressive and independent films, B-movies with plots centered on incest, violence, and murder. And from there, he moved on to appearing in highly popular blockbusters ( Hairspray ) with the same ease, without losing that flair for the exaggerated that has always characterized him.

The coronation of the Divine character took place with the release of Pink Flamingo , which features the very famous scene in which he eats dog shit ( the documentary features a very funny reconstruction by witnesses of how it was possible to film it ).

It may sound like a cliché, but it's impressive how the aggressive and alternative Divine shares her body with the shy and joking Glen : it's incredible how a nice overweight gentleman managed to become a punk soul, transgressive not only in his looks ( amazing, by the way ) but also in his cinematic choices.

Certainly not like certain Italian transvestites ( who shamelessly copied Divine's look ) who appear on television talk shows, spouting off acidic remarks and semi-obscenities, as if that's all drag queens could do. Divine was something completely different.