Not many holiday shows come with a parental warning.
Unless the star of the show is John Waters, the comedian/satirist/filmmaker/author and overall cult hero.
Donโt expect a lot of ho-ho-ho and sugar plums prancing around a Christmas tree.
โItโs an angry time. Itโs a civil war Christmas,โ Waters proclaimed during an early November phone call. โWeโll see.โ
Infusing anger and biting social commentary into a holiday as sacred as Christmas should come as no surprise to fans of Watersโ cult films including โThe Diane Linkletter Story,โ โMultiple Maniacs,โ โHairspray,โ โCry-Baby,โ โSerial Momโ and โA Dirty Shameโ; or his โadviceโ books including his latest, โMr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder.โ
โI always have anger in my humor, but comic anger,โ he said. โI make fun of a lot of political enemies, but at the same time I make just as much fun of the people I support.โ
In other words, heโs an equal opportunity offender. If he likes you or hates you, he has you in his crosshairs in his annual Christmas show, which heโs bringing to Rialto Theatre on Monday, Dec. 9.
โI think Iโm fair. I think no matter what your politics are you can come and laugh at my show,โ he said.
And the laughter can start at his expense. His show, which he was about two-thirds finished writing at the time of our conversation, starts with some reflective self-deprecation.
โI think I make fun of myself first,โ he said, which in some ways gives him license to โget away with rude humor.โ
His fans expect to see this so-called filth elder with tarnished wisdom from his latest โself-helpโ guide, released in May.
โYou donโt expect Iโm going to be doing Johnny Mathisโ act even though I love his act,โ said the 73-year-old comedian. โThey want me to be their kind of tour guide in a world they might not be comfortable with on their own but theyโre used to that.
โI am the opposite of a trigger warning. Iโm a trigger reverse warning. They want to come to have their sensibilities foiled. And to be honest, I never understood what a trigger warning was in college. I thought that was why you went to college, to have your values challenged, not be like only a rich kid who has to be kept comfortable in their emotions.โ
Waters, who brought his annual Christmas show to Tucson in 2017, said the Filth Elder โ his advice-giving alter-ego of sorts โ will be on full display at Mondayโs show.
โIโve been doing this for 50 years and it hasnโt changed much,โ he said with a chuckle, and explained that he plans to share his โnegotiation tactics and how I failed upwards and how I got away with it.โ
โMr. Know-It-All,โ like his two dozen-plus books before it including โChange of Life,โ โRole Modelsโ and โShock Value: A Tasteful Book about Bad Taste,โ dispenses self-help tips โfor anybody thatโs crazy.โ
โI think I have some advice that I can pass on and I think itโs good advice,โ he added, including tips for the lovelorn.
First tip: Avoid saying โI Love Youโ at almost all costs.
โYou should only say โI love youโ three times in life: To someone that youโre sleeping with, your parents or at a funeral,โ he said. โBut now Americans have cheapened it. Itโs only Americans who laugh about it. When they say โLove you,โ I say, โExcuse me? You say I love you to the person who just (rang up) your order at the supermarket?โ Itโs practically that bad. โExcuse me. Do I know you?โโ
That advice applies to couples married 10, 20 years or more.
โEven in the holidays. It is a word that should be used sparingly so that it means something,โ he said. โOtherwise itโs a Hallmark greeting card. Thereโs no real meaning.โ
And another thing, he added: Make sure you only say it when the person is asleep.
โItโs a loaded thing to say to anybody. This is the only way that they hear it, itโs low-key and it works,โ he explained. โYou donโt have to say you love me. And if I donโt say anything back, thereโs silence. It puts you on the spot. You have to lie or explain what you mean by the word โlove.โ Itโs a strong word.โ
