Plenty of Plague, Few Pleasures in the "Perfect Sewer" of the Salton Sea
At least John Waters is along for the visit.
Dear Moviegoers,
It’s been twenty years since the release of Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea, and it’s now a few days past Earth Day 2024. But, I doubt the situation in the documented California region is any better. Former politician and very former musician/personality Sonny Bono had brought attention to the tragedy of the Salton Sea and the environmental issues that harmed the area with some pretty significant legislation, but any progressive movement that should’ve happened immediately had not happened as of twenty years ago. As of the ending of Plagues & Pleasures. As of the final words from filmmaker and narrator John Waters.
How sad.
How odd.
Sad and odd describe the documentary Plagues & Pleasures most perfectly. It’s a film that, for the majority of its short feature length time, tries to make the argument that the residents along the Salton Sea in California, just slightly away from the much cleaner Palm Springs, are madcap enough for a visit. The film also tries to set the record straight about just how much has been lost for the land and the living here, and how little time there is for them and the surrounding communities. A domino effect from the lake to the golf courses nearby.
More important of course is the safety and health of the so-called misfits that still reside by this water of dead but plentiful but polluted fish. John Waters was tasked to narrate Plagues & Pleasures, giving his weirdo sentiments and sensibilities to people that he would never look down upon - suggesting that we should never do so too. This is the movie’s masterstroke, though it is questionable to have Waters also talk about the damage to the lake and the economy when he is so much better at discussing and describing those who he’d love to hang out with.
Is this a hangout picture or a heartfelt testimony? I’m not sure. However fortunate or unfortunate, it is entertaining at least.
No matter the confusion, Plagues & Pleasures gives us a few memorable but non-nicknamed characters to follow, such as a guy with an alcoholic beverage who loves his neighbors and an elderly woman who’s still alive. This almost full-time former resort town, aside from hosting several fairly average, slightly unique, but ultimately downtrodden individuals, does have at least one person in its back pocket for emergencies. Emergencies like when there’s no party happening or when an older gentleman isn’t showing his ass to everyone. That man is known as Hunky Daddy the Hungarian, and he’s rarely ever without a beer or a story. Or a dropped pair of pants.
What else can one do in such a low and desolate and forgotten area but drink? The kids that are left on the very cheap lots of land play around with kick balls in the dirt and break stuff, but that’s roughly it. As John Waters likely sees it, the Salton Sea is a cauldron of Wizard of Oz-like proportions, as both a community of oddities and a place tucked away but, somehow, magical. Magical by way of toxicity. Toxicity that creates cartoons and caricatures out of normalcy.
John Waters wants to see these people happy. If that’s achieved by living in squalor, who is he to judge? But he and the film both make clear that things would be best if the area were healthier to live in. Plagues & Pleasures advocates for change and support, and that’s a wonderful gesture. Do I think that presenting a motley crew of a strange kind is the best way to bring appropriate attention to a depressing situation? I don’t know, and who am I to judge?
Oh, I’m a critic. How sad. How odd. 3/5
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its release 🥳 and is available for free on KQED’s YouTube page (embedded above) and for rent or purchase.
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