Lust in the Dust (1985)

After forming a match made in trash-movie heaven in John Waters's Polyester, Tab Hunter and Divine reunited for this deliciously tasteless Western comedy, which borrows its title from the nickname for Duel in the Sun, the turgid Western that inspired director Paul Bartel's affectionate spoofery. With Hunter wearing two hats as hero and coproducer, the movie indulges its own outrageous excess while staying true to the dustiest traditions of the Western genre. It's just good enough to watch without shame, and rude enough to hide from more offendable members of the family.

Nothing's sacred in Chile Verde, the wild western town where lone gunman Abel Wood (Hunter) arrives after rescuing corpulent saloon singer Rosie Velez (Divine) from being defiled by Hard Case Williams (Geoffey Lewis) and his gang of misfit gunslingers. Saloon owner Marguerita Ventura (Lainie Kazan) gets hot 'n' heavy for Abel's wood, and passions flare up in a race for hidden treasure, the map to which is tattooed in two sections on Rosie's and Marguerita's ample posteriors. To reveal more would spoil the wretched hilarity; one needn't love Westerns to enjoy this pig-wallow of a comedy, but it helps if you know the legacy of screen villains like Henry Silva, who's riotous here while barely shifting his vile expression. No doubt, this is the wackiest Western that ever cooked under the "blistering, burning, blazing, scorching, roasting, toasting, baking, boiling, broiling, steaming, searing, sizzling, grilling, smoldering, very hot New Mexico sun." --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Still a lot of fun

I saw Lust In The Dust when it came to theaters some years ago - it was a lot of fun then and it hasn't changed, still a lot of fun. The acting is far out but this only adds to the movie. Tab, Divine and Lainie are worth the watch. December 12, 2008

A love triangle you won't beleive

Tab Hunter, Divine, Lainie Kazan what more do you need to convince you to watch this movie? and its a western. October 21, 2008

you'll laugh so hard your a**'ll be on its last legs !!!

Lust In The Dust is an excellent spoof of western films with plenty of laughs and great entertainment. Many people mistakenly believe that this is a John Waters movie; it is not. Tab Hunter was one of the producers and he plays tough, mysterious gunfighter Able Wood as well.

But already I am getting somewhat ahead of myself. The action actually begins when we see Rosie Velez (Divine) struggling in the heat of the desert with her mule as she tries to get to Chile Verde in New Mexico. Soon she meets up with a rough and tough silent type cowboy who turns out to be the very famous Able Wood; and together they enter Chile Verde.

Rosie wants a job as a singer at the only saloon in town owned by Marguerita Ventura (Lainie Kazan); and the catfights start right from the word go as Rosie and Marguerita don't exactly get along. Sure, Rosie gets a job--scrubbing floors in the saloon, that is! Meanwhile, Able turns out to be in Chile Verde to find the long lost gold treasure allegedly buried there. Although the town's priest (Cesar Romero) denies that the gold treasure actually exists, soon almost everyone in town reveals that they are really there just to find the hidden gold treasure.

Of course there are many laughs along the way. Rosie sings a hilarious song as she auditions to sing in Marguerita's saloon; and Able spars with Hard Case Williams (Geoffrey Lewis), a rough and tough man himself--who is always quoting intimidating passages from the Bible. We get fight scenes and the inevitable race for the gold.

It may seem like I gave it all away; but I really didn't. Look for some very funny scenes with the piano bar player Red Barker (Courtney Gains) and the race for the gold treasure could make any one of several characters--or more than one person--very rich fast. Even after the treasure might actually be found, what happens to Rosie, Able, Marguerita, the town's priest--and the others?

The choreography works really well in the fight scenes; and the cinematography gives us great widescreen shots of the New Mexican desert. Excellent!

The DVD extras include a fifteen minute featurette with Tab Hunter and others telling the story of how this movie came to be a reality; and we get quite a bit of rare bonus footage of people like Edith Massey auditioning for the role of one of the "women of the night" in Marguerita's saloon.

Overall, Lust In The Dust is great entertainment that not enough people take the time to watch. It's fun, hilarious and even better if you've seen a few westerns in your time. It's also based on Duel In The Sun; and many people who remember Duel In The Sun will appreciate the parody of that movie's ending at the end of Lust In The Dust.

I highly recommend Lust In The Dust for people who like movies that spoof westerns; and people who like campy, over the top entertainment will cherish this film for ages to come. With a cast including Divine, Lainie Kazan, Tab Hunter, Cesar Romero and more you just can't miss.

Enjoy! October 18, 2007

Ole Every Day!

Divine, the alter ego of Glen Milstead (1945-1988), first burst onto an unsuspecting public with such notorious John Waters films as the infamous PINK FLAMINGOS, dishing up bad-taste humor in proportion with her truly ample size. But there was more to Divine than drag queen humor, and LUST IN THE DUST offers her a less extreme playground, pitting her against a lone gunman (Tab Hunter), a vicious saloon floozie (Lainie Kazan), and a host of desperados in a flyweight send up the spaghetti westerns so popular in the 1970s and 1980s.

Directed by Paul Bartel, best known for his 1982 black comedy EATING RAOUL, LUST IN THE DUST is essentially the very slight story of a search for gold--a search that leads Able Wood (Hunter), Marguarite Ventura (Kazan), and Rosie Velez (Divine) to the isolated old west one horse town of Chile Verde. There, with support from the likes of Cesar Romero, they snap, snarl, break up furniture, sing bawdy songs, show their tatoos, and... well... lust in the dust. What else?

I may be overly generous in granting this film four stars. The film is occasionally slow and there's nothing greatly inspired about plot, script, and so on--but the performers make the whole thing a lot of fun. Divine wallows, Kazan hisses, and Hunter sweats with the best of 'em, and when it comes to one-liners the movie overflows with both the obvious and very unexpected. Yes, it's all very silly stuff, but everybody puts it over with flair and a sense of fun; you'll grin in spite of yourself. The DVD offers a reasonable, if not pristine, print of the film--and there's even a bonus package: the film trailer and an entertaining little "making of" documentary.

If you're already a Divine fan, LUST IN THE DUST is a must; if you've never encountered Divine, this would be a good place to start, for it lacks the truly jaw-dropping (and frequently off-putting) content of Divine's work for John Waters. Two tons of big fun!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer August 23, 2007

Lust in the Dust

Lust in the Dust DVD - The delivery service was exceptional. I collect John Waters movies. August 22, 2007

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