# A Dirty Shame
*A Dirty Shame* is a 2004 American sex comedy written and directed by [John Waters](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-waters), starring [Tracey Ullman](https://www.edgepedia.org/tracey-ullman) as a repressed Baltimore housewife whose head injury transforms her into a sex addict. It was Waters's last completed feature film to date, and its NC-17 rating for pervasive sexual content limited its theatrical release and box office.[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/a-dirty-shame/) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dirty-Shame-A)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | John Waters; produced by Ted Hope and Christine Vachon[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/a-dirty-shame/) • [3](https://jephmann.com/movies/film.php?id=13702) |
| Release | September 17, 2004 (by Fine Line); NC-17 for pervasive sexual content; 89 minutes[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dirty-Shame-A) |
| Principal cast | Tracey Ullman (Sylvia Stickles), Johnny Knoxville (Ray-Ray), Chris Isaak (Vaughn Stickles), Selma Blair (Caprice Stickles), Suzanne Shepherd (Big Ethel)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_shame) |
| Box office | $1,339,668 domestic; opened at $29,384 in one theater, expanding to a maximum of 133[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dirty-Shame-A) |
| Critical reception | 55% Tomatometer from 113 reviews and 51% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 56 (mixed or average)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_shame) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-dirty-shame/critic-reviews/) |
| Censorship | A sanitized R-rated cut, the "Neuter Version," was made for cable and airline distribution[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/17/john-waters-film-a-dirty-shame-cinema-sex-johnny-knoxville) • [7](https://www.dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/d/dirtyshame.q.shtml) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) runs a convenience store on Harford Road in North Baltimore with her husband Vaughn ([Chris Isaak](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-isaak)) and her mother-in-law Big Ethel (Suzanne Shepherd). She leads a decency group of self-described "neuters" and keeps her overly endowed daughter Caprice ([Selma Blair](https://www.edgepedia.org/selma-blair), stage name Ursula Udders) locked in her room. When Sylvia is accidentally hit on the head, her behavior changes completely, and she falls under the influence of Ray-Ray Perkins ([Johnny Knoxville](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-knoxville)), a tow truck driver and sexual healer who leads a cult of sex addicts and promises a "resur-sex-tion" through a never-before-seen sex act. The addicts and the neuters wage a class war up and down Harford Road.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_shame) • [8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-dirty-shame/cast/2000134712/) • [9](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/WATERS-NEXT-MOVIE-IS-A-DIRTY-SHAME-2508607.php) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/17/john-waters-film-a-dirty-shame-cinema-sex-johnny-knoxville)
Waters said the premise began with a magazine article reporting that a tiny percentage of head-injury sufferers experience uncontrollable carnal lust; he reworked it as "concussion sufferers band together and take over a blue-collar neighborhood."[10](https://vanityfair-staging.azurewebsites.net/article/2004/3/a-dirty-shame) The Film Society of Lincoln Center described the film as Waters's take on the old-fashioned sexploitation movie, combining the freak-show flair of his early work with the gentler tone of his later genre tributes.[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/a-dirty-shame/) Critics have also noted its kinship with [David Cronenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cronenberg)'s *Crash* (1996): in both films a road injury is the inciting incident that draws the protagonist into a subculture of fetish, with Knoxville's mechanic playing a literal sexual messiah.[11](https://roughcutfilm.com/2024/03/15/video-a-dirty-crash/)
## Production and Baltimore setting
As with all of Waters's films, the movie was shot in his native Baltimore, in the middle-class, blue-collar Hamilton neighborhood on Harford Road; the production built what Waters called "penis trees" on residents' lawns, and he reported that the neighborhood could not have been nicer.[10](https://vanityfair-staging.azurewebsites.net/article/2004/3/a-dirty-shame) • [12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2004/09/19/baltimores-subversive-auteur-doesnt-disappoint-at-premiere/0cfbf9cb-81b0-4161-a2cc-69686fa4eb9c/) The film premiered at the renovated Senator Theatre on Baltimore's York Road in September 2004, with cast members Tracey Ullman, Chris Isaak, Selma Blair, and Baltimore native [James Ransone](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-ransone) attending.[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2004/09/19/baltimores-subversive-auteur-doesnt-disappoint-at-premiere/0cfbf9cb-81b0-4161-a2cc-69686fa4eb9c/) The crew included editor Jeffrey Wolf, production designer Vincent Peranio, and composer George S. Clinton.[3](https://jephmann.com/movies/film.php?id=13702) • [13](https://editfestglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Eddie-2024-Online-Tribute-Book.pdf)
## The NC-17 rating and the Neuter Version
The Motion Picture Association assigned an NC-17 rating for pervasive sexual content, which Waters and commentators regard as having blunted the film's commercial prospects.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dirty-Shame-A) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/17/john-waters-film-a-dirty-shame-cinema-sex-johnny-knoxville) Waters pleaded with Joan Graves, then head of the rating board, asking what could be cut; her reply was, "After a while, we stopped taking notes." A sanitized copy, titled the Neuter Version, was made for cable and airline distribution, and the Guardian wrote that the title became a self-fulfilling prophecy, with the film finding its audience on the small screen.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/17/john-waters-film-a-dirty-shame-cinema-sex-johnny-knoxville) The US DVD offered both the NC-17 theatrical version and an R-rated cut with dubbed-over profanity; the IMDb FAQ counts 124 differences between the two versions.[7](https://www.dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/d/dirtyshame.q.shtml) • [14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365125/faq/)
## Reception
The film debuted to a mixed critical response and disappointing box-office receipts.[15](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-john-waters) It earned a 55% Tomatometer from 113 critics and a 51% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Metascore of 56 on Metacritic, labeled mixed or average.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_shame) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-dirty-shame/critic-reviews/) Positive reviews came from the Los Angeles Times, whose critic Kevin Thomas called it "a gust of fresh air" despite its language, and the Washington Post, whose [Stephen Hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-hunter) wrote that Waters was "onto something big."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-dirty-shame/critic-reviews/) Roger Ebert, reviewing in September 2004, called it monotonous and repetitive, a comedy that gets more bad laughs than good ones.[16](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-dirty-shame-2004) David Ansen of Newsweek called it a one-joke movie that shows its strain well before the finish line, while Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle rated it 3.5/5 and read it as part of Waters's long-running battle against censorship.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_shame)
Commercially, the film grossed $1,339,668 domestically, all of it in the United States. It opened on September 17, 2004 in a single theater with $29,384, expanded to 133 theaters in its second week with a weekend gross of $448,914, and then declined steadily over an eight-week run.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dirty-Shame-A)
## Place in Waters's career
*A Dirty Shame* is Waters's last completed feature film to date.[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/a-dirty-shame/) In a 2019 interview he said he had been paid to write many movies since but believed he had probably made his last, adding that his movies have shelf lives like books.[17](https://www.mdc.edu/clippings/2019/October/22.PDF) Retrospective assessments have been divided: The Manual's ranking of Waters's films calls it "a mess from start to finish,"[18](https://www.themanual.com/culture/the-films-of-john-waters-ranked/) while a 2024 Guardian retrospective argued that the film remains potent twenty years on as an example of Waters's disregard for polite society.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/17/john-waters-film-a-dirty-shame-cinema-sex-johnny-knoxville)
## References
1. [A Dirty Shame, Film Society of Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/a-dirty-shame/)
2. [A Dirty Shame (2004) Box Office Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dirty-Shame-A)
3. [A Dirty Shame (2004) Production Credits, Jeffrey Hartmann](https://jephmann.com/movies/film.php?id=13702)
4. [A Dirty Shame, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_shame)
5. [A Dirty Shame Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-dirty-shame/critic-reviews/)
6. [John Waters is cinema's finest purveyor of trash, The Guardian (2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/17/john-waters-film-a-dirty-shame-cinema-sex-johnny-knoxville)
7. [The DVD Journal: Quick Reviews, A Dirty Shame](https://www.dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/d/dirtyshame.q.shtml)
8. [A Dirty Shame Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-dirty-shame/cast/2000134712/)
9. [Waters' Next Movie Is 'A Dirty Shame', SFGate (2003)](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/WATERS-NEXT-MOVIE-IS-A-DIRTY-SHAME-2508607.php)
10. [A Dirty Shame, Vanity Fair (March 2004)](https://vanityfair-staging.azurewebsites.net/article/2004/3/a-dirty-shame)
11. [A Dirty Crash, Rough Cut (2024)](https://roughcutfilm.com/2024/03/15/video-a-dirty-crash/)
12. [Baltimore's Subversive Auteur Doesn't Disappoint at Premiere, The Washington Post (2004)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2004/09/19/baltimores-subversive-auteur-doesnt-disappoint-at-premiere/0cfbf9cb-81b0-4161-a2cc-69686fa4eb9c/)
13. [Eddie 2024 Online Tribute Book, EditFest Global](https://editfestglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Eddie-2024-Online-Tribute-Book.pdf)
14. [A Dirty Shame (2004) FAQ, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365125/faq/)
15. [Where to begin with John Waters, BFI (2015)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-john-waters)
16. [Crude, yes, but unfunny, RogerEbert.com (2004)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-dirty-shame-2004)
17. [John Waters interview, Miami Dade College clippings (2019)](https://www.mdc.edu/clippings/2019/October/22.PDF)
18. [The 12 Best Films of John Waters, Ranked, The Manual](https://www.themanual.com/culture/the-films-of-john-waters-ranked/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2003 to 2004 › Titles 1 to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license