A Sinful Life (1989)

Let's be realistic.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

If you loved Anita Morris in "Ruthless People", then "A Sinful Life" is a must see. She again plays a "Southern belle" surrounded by doofus men much like Bill Pullman's character in "Ruthless People". Morris's explanation of how her imbecilic daughter, "Baby", was conceived from an earthquake in a sperm bank is worth the price of admission alone. If you like "trailer trash" movies such as "Hold Me. Thrill Me, Kiss Me", or "Poor White Trash" (2001), then "A Sinful Life" is for you. The film is infinitely quotable (Morris to the janitor) "I hope you're available tomorrow morning, I'd like you to snake my tub". (Mark Rolston as a transsexual talks about his latest lover) "If immigration doesn't catch him, I'll live happily ever after". Seek this one out. Highly recommended of it's type. - MERK

Shame this is fading... it should get more respect than it does. It's very John Waters, yes... but these people can act. I channel surfed into this one night and couldn't believe it. It's become my own personal cult film. I spring it on the avg. John Waters fan and they like it a lot. The basic storyline revolves around an ex-dancer/present day drunk, Claire Vin Blanc, and her odd daughter "Baby". I say odd because the actress who plays he is at least 20 years old. But the movie is all flashback, so she's done up like a baby doll. Baby is constantly late for school and her teacher decides to visit the home. This leads to a disaster and the teacher threatens to have poor Baby removed from the abusive home. Not much of a plot. But along the way, Claire screws the janitor (come see me tomorrow.. i want you to "snake my tub"), dishes with her rather masculine neighbor, Theresa (the photographer said I look like a young Pam Dawber)... and, in an effort to get a new sofa to make her house more presentable for the teacher, she seduces another neighbor who is a religious nut and the head of the credit dept. at Sears (he has a preference for the grosser passages in the Bible).It wraps up pretty neat and quick, but i love this movie. My favorite scene...When Claire first has sex with the janitor in her bedroom..they are blurry "doing it" on the bed, and the camera pans over to 2 cockroaches on her dresser "doing it" also!!! If you can find this check it out!

Prior to seeing A Sinful Life, I was not aware that John Waters had imitators...but he does! Unfortunately, Mr. Schreiner is nowhere near as creative and the movie gets quite tedious during the middle, although the finale is well done and funny. The theme is the same as Waters' perennial theme--poor white trash unemployed women, but set here in LA instead of in Baltimore. Morris is absolutely gorgeous, but she does not have much to work with. The other characters are very simplistic cardboard cutouts, and not too funny either.