Andy Warhol's Trash

Morrissey has said that he wanted to show how drug addicts are really nothing more than trash, which I guess would make this film little more than a 60s "Reefer Madness." Fortunately, he is enough of a filmmaker to let himself (and us) be surprised by the insanely goofy, and sometimes just insane, performances of the people in front of his camera.

Dallesandro is very photogenic, and seems to really be trying to shape and stay in a character. Andrea Feldman is simply crazy, with her flat expression, drawling monotone, and probably pathological rhyming speech, but she does manage to rip out some of the film's funniest lines. Jane Forth doesn't have a lot of control (she seems to be struggling not to laugh while dragging the naked, O.D.ing Joe around her apartment), but her story about Danny DiVito and the tank is not to be missed. Holly Woodlawn is every bit as good as you have heard. As screwed up and drug-addled as she may have been (and, fortunately, no longer seems to be), Woodlawn is a natural actor with a broad range and a raging intelligence.

Finally, the film, though out of focus at points and probably shot with terrible equipment, is surprising beautiful. Morrissey's later, and weaker, "Spike of Bensonhurst" shows that this is no accident. He really does have an eye, and he shows in "Trash" that he has a willingness to let the performances speak for themselves, even if he has no ability to shape those performances.

After Flesh, this is the second of the Flesh-Trash-Heat trilogy of the Joe Dallessandro-Andy Warhol-Paul Morrissey collaboration. This is much more pacier than Flesh, and it has more solid conversation although obviously the actors have again been left on their own to improvise. The context is much more specifically set than Flesh again (thanks to better editing I guess), and the mood is darker and gloomier.

The transvestite Holly Woodlawn is truly grand as the lost and desperate girlfriend who is helplessly in love with the impotent drug addict Joe.

Trash is also more critical about the state of the American nation in the 60's.

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!

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.