Best John Waters Film

Writer, director, actor, and artist John Waters has been making avant-garde cinema since the 1960s. His movies have pushed boundaries and shocked audiences with their wild characters and surreal storylines, even as they offer piercing insights into popular American culture and society. While he experienced mainstream crossover success by the 1980s and into the 2000s, and has been embraced by many in the entertainment industry, John Waters is inherently an outsider –- and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He is a unique, visionary queer voice in American cinema. So for one of our 2025 Pride specials, the Great Pop Culture Debate looks back on 8 of The Pope of Trash’s most notable movies and attempts to name the Best John Waters Film. Movies discussed: Hairspray (1988), Serial Mom (1994), Pink Flamingos (1972), Cry-Baby (1990), Female Trouble (1974), Mondo Trasho (1969), Polyester (1981), Pecker (1998). Join host Eric Rezsnyak, GPCD panelist Jonny Minogue, and special guests Erin Marlow from the It’s a Fandom Thing podcast, and Joshua Grannell AKA Peaches Christ, alternative drag icon and host of the Midnight Mass podcast, as they discuss 8 of the most notorious John Waters films. Play along at home by finding the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out, and see if your picks match up with ours! For more exclusive content, including the warm-up in which we discuss the other John Waters films that didn’t make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today. Looking for more reasons to become a Patreon supporter? Check out our Top 10 Patreon Perks. Sign up for our weekly newsletter! Subscribe to find out what’s new in pop culture each week right in your inbox! Vote in more pop culture polls! Check out our Open Polls. Your votes determine our future debates! Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next. Episode Credits Host: Eric Rezsnyak Panelists: Jonny Minogue Guest Panelist: Erin Marlow, It’s a Fandom Thing podcast Guest Panelist: Joshua Grannell AKA Peaches Christ Producer: Bob Erlenback Editor: Eric Rezsnyak Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch #johnwaters #johnwatersfilm #johnwatersfilm #movies #pinkflamingos #hairspray #serialmom #femaletrouble #pecker #crybaby #mondotrasho #polyester #divine #divinedragqueen #70smovies #80smovies #90smovies #podcast #moviepodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices