Mondo Trasho 1969

The film opens with a shocking display of gruesome beheadings, setting the stage for an anarchic world steeped in chaos. Amid this stark backdrop, Mary Vivian Pearce, the platinum bombshell, emerges, catching a bus while engaging in the unsettling allure of Kenneth Anger’s “Hollywood Babylon.”

However, this captivating femme fatale soon becomes entrapped by a repugnant “shrimper”—a fetichist with an unsettling obsession with feet. Her predicament is further complicated by fantasies of being Cinderella, a cruel irony that intertwines innocence with depravity. The bombshell’s daydreams come to a halt when she is hit by a car driven by the flamboyant Divine, who was initially attempting to pick up a handsome hitchhiker.

Upon regaining consciousness, the bombshell finds herself under Divine’s care, taken into her quirky world. They embark on a surreal escapade to a thrift store where Mary Vivian Pearce pilfers clothing and later steals shoes from the corpse of a homeless woman. Divine tends to the bombshell’s injuries, using a wipe that signifies a transformation into a new identity, albeit a stolen one.

Their bizarre odyssey continues at a coin laundry, where Divine not only cleans the bombshell’s face but also dresses her in the stolen attire. Just when an unusual sense of normalcy settles in, Margie Skidmore makes an unexpected appearance as the Blessed Virgin Mary, who requests Divine to “teach me to be Divine.” This mystical encounter results in a surprising gift of a wheelchair, which Divine employs to navigate the city with the still-unconscious bombshell.

Their whimsical journey is abruptly interrupted when Divine discovers her vehicle has been taken by a shady character. As she attempts a detour to a doctor’s office, the duo falls captive in a sinister asylum, where Divine is stripped of her cigarette while witnessing the appalling mistreatment of topless tap dancers.

Just as despair settles in, the Blessed Virgin Mary returns, bestowing Divine with a hunting knife that ignites her courage. Energized, the inmates orchestrate a miraculous escape, flooding the streets of Baltimore with joyful havoc.

In the aftermath, Divine seeks medical help for the bombshell’s amputated feet. However, she is met by Dr. Coathanger, who, along with his problematic nurse, replaces them with grotesque bird-like limbs, enabling Mary Vivian Pearce to tap-dance her way through the city—a metamorphosis both grotesque and liberating.

As the spotlight focuses on Divine, she demonstrates an intense disdain for a probing reporter, showcasing her acting prowess. However, when the flashbulbs ignite, her demeanor shifts into one of acute awareness, only to be shattered as violence erupts; a police officer, steeped in rage, attacks Divine, leading to a chaotic gunfight filled with terrified bystanders.

Divine’s extraordinary response to this turmoil is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Armed with a lamp, she fiercely combats the officer, ultimately ending his life in a surge of adrenaline. Tragically, in the process, she accidentally impales herself, writhing in pain on the forest floor.

Just when darkness threatens to consume her, Dr. Coathanger’s wicked schemes crumble as he abandons Divine and the Bombshell in a remote woodland. On the precipice of exhaustion, a divine intervention happens as the Virgin Mary appears, granting Divine extraordinary gifts that supersede the limitations of mortality.

Thus empowered, the Bombshell begins an enigmatic journey through Baltimore, her newly transformed bird-like feet leaving an indelible impression on the city. This bizarre adventure features an array of outrageous incidents, such as a humiliating mooning by rowdy greasers in a dim alley and a barrage of disdainful comments from two self-absorbed socialites.