Click to read the article
Pecker (1998)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:23
Rotten:20
Average Rating:5.8/10
Runtime: 87 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: The winning 10th feature from John Waters straddles a fine line between the eager vulgarity of his earlier works and the sloppy sweetness of HAIRSPRAY and CRY-BABY. Set, as usual, in Baltimore, the... The winning 10th feature from John Waters straddles a fine line between the eager vulgarity of his earlier works and the sloppy sweetness of HAIRSPRAY and CRY-BABY. Set, as usual, in Baltimore, the film stars Edward Furlong as Pecker, a sweet-natured young fellow who happily passes the days photographing his surroundings with a cheap secondhand camera. Egging him on are his Virgin Mary-obsessed grandmother (Jean Schertler), his sugar-addicted younger sister (Lauren Hulsey), his kleptomaniac best friend (Brendan Sexton III), and his girlfriend (Christina Ricci), who runs a Laundromat with an iron fist. When Pecker's works are "discovered" by a slumming NYC art dealer (Lili Taylor), his simple life is turned upside down, and he quickly realizes that he was happier as an unknown. A valentine to--and satire of--the art world, PECKER makes strangely poignant statements about the nature of art and the value of fame. As someone with a foot in both the New York art scene and the earthiness of Baltimore, the title character obviously has more than a touch of the director in him. As with all other Waters films, those who are familiar with Baltimore culture will be even more richly rewarded. [More]
Starring: Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Brendan Sexton, Lili Taylor
Starring: Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Brendan Sexton, Lili Taylor, Martha Plimpton, Mary Kay Place, Mark Joy, Jean Schertler, Lauren Hulsey, Mink Stole, Patricia Campbell Hearst
Director: John Waters
Director: John Waters
Screenwriter: John Waters
Producer: John Fiedler, Mark Tarlov
Composer: Stewart Copeland
Reviews for Pecker
I had a great time. It was like skipping school, stealing some comic books, and reading them behind an old abandoned warehouse.
Writer and director John Waters has fashioned a sassy, irreverent movie about art, fame, culture shock, and class consciousness.
Toss in running gags about the pubic hair on lesbian strippers, and what could possibly be wrong? In short, the film doesn't have much of a pecker.
Pecker is Hairspray with Kodak film stock, or Crybaby without the juvenile delinquency angle
The movie is fast and warmly generous towards just about everyone on the screen.
If the rest of John Waters' Pecker was as funny as its first half-hour is, it might have been one of the all-time greats.
light-hearted comedy that could play at multiplexes and will even appear at Blockbuster alongside mainstream comedies
The slack comic pacing, uncertain camera angles and simply dead onscreen moments undermine the ebullient party Waters wants to throw.
...mostly potshots, lightly diverting goofiness with a too-pat happy ending.
diluted Waters, but there's more than enough disturbing behavior and off-the-wall satire here to shock the faint-of-heart and delight those who enjoy the director's quirky sense of fun.
John Waters’ Pecker (conjure up the image!) is a limp effort in search of a Viagra fix. Too bad the main character’s name isn’t Cigar.
There are many odd treats, like seeing former SLA hostage Patty Hearst dancing on a bar in a low-cut slip and getting a crash course in "tea-baggng."
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Pecker at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

