CECIL B. DEMENTED

Part of the special series JOHN WATERS: THE RESPECTABLE YEARS

Cecil B. Demented: “Technique is nothing more than failed style.”

Hollywood actress Honey Whitlock (Melanie Griffith) travels to Baltimore for the premiere of her new film—only to be kidnapped by a radical film crew that sees itself as the last line of defense for true cinema. Led by the fanatical Cecil B. Demented (Stephen Dorff), the group forces her to star in a guerrilla-style film that erupts into ongoing screenings and active film sets.

What begins as a farce evolves into a wild confrontation with film culture, commercialism, and artistic integrity. John Waters lets explosions, manifestos, and cinephile in-jokes collide, while Honey unwillingly becomes both participant and figurehead in a battle she never intended to fight.