9:30pm - Sunday, Jul 27, 2025
Polyester (Presented in 'Odorama!')
"Its SCENTS-ational! 'Polyester' offers more honest laughs than 'Airplane'... ODORAMA is a wondrous screen gimmick!" (TIME Magazine)
John Waters' magnificent muse, and cinema's favourite plus-sized transvestite Divine, stars opposite '60s heartthrob Tab Hunter in this comic tale as frustrated middle-class Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw, a woman who tries to maintain her sanity while taking care of a dysfunctional bent on constantly driving her to the brink of insanity. Her nightmarish husband is the owner of an "adult theatre," and he's sleeping with his secretary! Her teen son Dexter is a delinquent foot fetishist and her daughter is knocked up by a local hoodlum, which only adds to the domestic turmoil. But when Francine meets dashing Todd Tomorrow (Hunter), the owner of a theatre specializing in "art films" who also drives a flashy white Corvette, her life appears rosier. With Edith Massey, Mink Stole, Stiv Baters.
This screening is proudly presented in glorious ODORAMA. Official POLYESTER scratch-and-sniff cards are included with the purchase of every ticket.
"Polyester stands firmly as a gateway between the gross-out films of Waters' past and the soft-hearted sentimentalist ones that were to come." (Spectrum Culture)
"Only John Waters would think of marrying Douglas Sirk melodrama to William Castle showmanship." (Film Frenzy)
"A fitfully amusing comedy of not so ordinary people." (Variety)
Sunday, July 27
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
POLYESTER (John Waters, 1981 / 89 mins / 18A) A suburban housewife's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.
*Minors OK. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Sorry, Rio Theatre Groupons and passes n/a for this film.
*We recommend purchasing your tickets in advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca. If a screening or live event is not sold out, the remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the Rio Theatre’s Box Office prior to showtime (subject to availability).
*Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats, and time for treats at concession.
*If you are looking to redeem either a Rio Theatre gift certificate or Groupon to any regular Rio Theatre screening: You can either email us in advance and give us a “heads up,” or do it at the box office prior to showtime.
*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. No refunds or exchanges.
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