- published: 12 Jul 2014
- views: 23745
Pecker is a 1998 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Waters and starring Edward Furlong and Christina Ricci. Like all Waters' films, it was filmed and set in Baltimore; this film in the Hampden neighborhood.
The film examines the rise to fame and potential fortune of a budding photographer.
Set in a Baltimore neighborhood known for having the thickest local accent, Pecker tells the story of an unassuming 18-year-old who works in a sandwich shop and takes photos of his loving but peculiar family and friends on the side. Pecker (Edward Furlong), so named for his childhood habit of "pecking" at his food, stumbles into fame when his work is "discovered" by a savvy New York art dealer, Rorey Wheeler (Lili Taylor). Pecker's pictures — grainy, out-of-focus studies of unglamorous subjects — are far from professional, but they strike a chord with New York art collectors.
Unfortunately, instant over-exposure has its downside. Rorey's efforts to turn Pecker into an art sensation threaten to ruin the low-key lifestyle that was his inspiration. Pecker finds that his best friend, Matt (Brendan Sexton III), can't shoplift anymore now that Pecker's photographs have increased his profile. Shelley (Christina Ricci), Pecker's obsessive girlfriend who runs a laundromat, seems especially distressed when the press dub her a "stain goddess" and mistake her good-natured "pin-up" poses for pornographic come-ons.
Actors: Mary Kay Place (actress), Stewart Copeland (composer), Lili Taylor (actress), Mink Stole (actress), Christina Ricci (actress), John Waters (writer), John Waters (actor), Stacy Keibler (actress), Brendan Sexton III (actor), Mark Joy (actor), Edward Furlong (actor), Martha Plimpton (actress), Emmy Collins (actor), John Waters (director), Mark Ordesky (producer),
Plot: A Baltimore sandwich shop employee becomes an overnight sensation when photographs he's taken of his weird family become the latest rage in the art world. The young man is called "Pecker" because he pecks at his food like a bird.
Keywords: amateur, art, art-exhibit, art-exhibition, art-gallery, art-show, artist, baltimore-maryland, blasphemy, blue-collar