Andy Warhol's Trash

I became familiar with the Paul Morrissey-Joe Dallesandro trilogy by watching "Flesh". I loved it, but there were many flaws that could not be overlooked (i.e., forgettable acting, bad editing and sound, boring intervals in plot). I did expect better with "Trash" and it delivered more than I wished for.

Joe Dallesandro gives another fantastic performance as a junkie who will do anything for heroin. But unlike his appearance in "Flesh", Joe barely creates any sexual longing from the audience. The plotline is simple: Joe wants heroin, his girlfriend Holly wants welfare, and you get to see some strange characters and situations as they try to reach their goal(s). Morrissey produced several winning actors in "Flesh", one of which was Geri Miller as a ditzy but lovable stripper. Geri plays another ditzy but lovable stripper and is just as good, if not better, here. For those of you who remember hearing her conversation about choosing between plant juice or silicone for her breast implants, you can't help but wonder which she picked, for in a stripping sequence, Geri's breasts are noticeably larger. It is in this film that I noticed Morrissey's casting is similar to that of John Waters: Morrissey-Geri Miller; Waters-Cookie Mueller Morrissey-Jane Forth; Waters-Mary Vivian Pearce Morrissey-Andrea Feldman; Waters-Edith Massey (in the "where the hell did they come from?" category)

Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis are gone from the cast, but to take both of their places is Holly Woodlawn, who steals the film from absolutely everybody! She was supposed to have been nominated for an Oscar for her performance in this film, but because Holly is a transvestite, there was questioning as to which category? She is fabulous, better than any other Warhol star before or since, and is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Andrea Feldman is a wild, outrageous character actress and while her voice is annoying, her personality is interesting. Jane Forth, a 16-year-old actress, has an equally annoying voice, but her performance as a talkative rich snob is great. Other notable appearances include Johnny Putnam, who was Holly Woodlawn's 16-year-old boyfriend, as a teen looking for dope and Michael Sklar as the welfare officer. Diane Podlewski as Holly's pregnant sister and Bruce Pecheur as Jane's husband aren't as memorable.

"Trash" features better editing style, better sound quality, better improvised dialogue, better stylistic camerawork, great sets, and a MUCH better ensemble cast. I would recommend this film more than any other Morrissey film besides perhaps "Blood for Dracula". Highly recommended!

When Andy Warhol approached Paul Morrisey about making a film dealing with drugs,Morrisey thought right away of making it as anti drug a film as possible. The proof in the proverbial pudding is 'Trash',which started out being called Drug Trash,but was shortened at the last minute by Morrisey & Warhol,themselves. This is a film that one could look at as being either a dark drama,or even darker comedy dealing with the various persons who use/abuse Heroin. Joe Dellisandro is a young junkie trying to keep one step ahead of his addiction (and usually failing). It also chronicles the various low lives that weave & bob in and out of his existence. It has some of the ugliest scenes of Heroin use that I've seen,outside of some of the footage that could be seen on a weekly basis on the series 'Intervention'. Toss in wall to wall male & female full frontal nudity,rampant sexual romping & various other droppings, and you have yourself a film that could easily scare one away from even considering trying Heroin,or any other self injecting drug. This film does,however have a grainy,kitchen sink,"do it yourself" (or D.I.Y.)look that does give the smarmy going's on a requisite,dingy look that really works (it was originally filmed on 16mm film stock & blown up to 35mm for distribution--i.e.the early John Waters' films,such as 'Pink Flamingos,and all of the other pre-Polyester films) Originally slapped with an 'X' rating by the MPAA,this film serves up the above mentioned drug abuse (with some truly ugly scenes of shooting up Heroin),nudity,actual on screen sexuality (including an on screen rape), a scene involving masturbation with a beer bottle,and lots & lots of profanity

I've read about the movie's low budget process and expected a low quality flim, but I was surprised by how good this movie is. It is so raw and the actors are so natural that it feels almost like a documentary (perhaps the actors are not so different from their characters, but none the less they are fascinating people).

The characters are strange and high most of the time, which makes the movie absolutely hilarious. This is a brilliant, unique film, thanks to Paul Morrissey and Andy Warhol's eccentric vision and their Superstars.

It's a shame some people consider this and it's companion pieces to be Andy Warhol films when they really have very little relation at all to the Warhol style and Warhol himself had nothing to do with them. The credit goes to Morrisey and his superstar weirdos. What's even more shocking is that these films are considered to be such works of intellectual art when this movie at least is unashamed pure comedy and not much else. A very funny comedy at times granted, but not a great intelectual work, though it has some social relevance of course. The final scene with the social worker is one of the best comedy scenes in movies, or would be if it weren't for the amateurness of the actor playing the social worker. On the minus, you do have to wonder about the ethics of Morrisey since this film is also, to a small degree, a freak show.

After viewing Trash a second time I have to say that if Joe Dallesandro had not been in this film I doubt people would want to sit through it more than once. Maybe, but most likely not.

The film isn't bad but the acting is amateurish just enough to be distracting. The film is gritty, grimy and has a.... well, a trashy feel to it. Even Joe's fingernails in close-ups are dirty. But he is beautiful to behold. Young men today would give anything to have that body and let's be honest here, the camera loves his nude physique and we see a lot of it here. Full frontal male nudity.

It's hard not to become involved in the film because these people are desperate. They are barely able to survive. Somehow they manage to hold their heads up high and demand respect from other people even though they are living at the bottom of the barrel and very much need the welfare payments they are seeking.

The delivery of the dialog is out of place at times and it's hard to figure out how the actors went from point A to point B. Still, it is interesting to watch and Joe definitely looks good on screen.