A Dirty Shame

A Dirty Shame
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Waters
Written byJohn Waters
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySteve Gainer
Edited byJeffrey Wolf
Music byGeorge S. Clinton
Production
companies
Distributed byFine Line Features
Release dates
  • September 12, 2004 (2004-09-12) (TIFF)
  • September 17, 2004 (2004-09-17) (Baltimore)
  • September 24, 2004 (2004-09-24) (North America)
Running time
89 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[citation needed]
Box office$1.9 million[2]

A Dirty Shame is a 2004 American satirical sex comedy film written and directed by John Waters and starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair, and Chris Isaak. It follows a community in suburban Baltimore divided between people with highly conservative attitudes towards sexuality, and those who have been turned into sex addicts after experiencing concussions.

After premiering at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, A Dirty Shame was released in the United States on September 17, 2004. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Due to its sexual themes and content, it received an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, which limited the scope of its release and marketing, and it grossed $1.5 million domestically. Due to its poor box office performance, the film stood as Waters' last directorial effort[3] for nearly two decades.[4]

  1. ^ "A DIRTY SHAME (18)". British Board of Film Classification. September 15, 2004. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "John Waters: 'Doing the show is an effective anti-Alzheimer's exercise'". The Guardian. November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  4. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (October 6, 2022). "John Waters Back In Director's Chair For 'Liarmouth; Indie Icon Writing/Helming for Village Roadshow Entertainment". Deadline. Retrieved September 12, 2023.