Synopsis
Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine succeeded in becoming an internationally recognized icon, recording artist, and character actor of stage and screen. Glenn went from the often-mocked, schoolyard fat kid to underdog royalty, standing up for millions of gay men and women, drag queens and punk rockers, and countless other socially ostracized misfits and freaks. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- DivineSelf (archive footage)
- John WatersSelf
- Ricki LakeSelf
- Lisa Jane PerskySelf
- Bruce VilanchSelf
- Mink StoleSelf
- John C. EppersonSelf
- Tab HunterSelf
- Edith MasseySelf
- Helen HanftSelf
Recommendations
- 88
Baltimore Sun
This is a movie that's really about how much fun Glenn Milstead had being Divine, and how he — perhaps unexpectedly — found so many fans willing to go along for the ride. That's an American success story worth celebrating. - 80
The New York Times
I Am Divine doesn’t dwell on Milstead’s growing pains. It is an aggressively upbeat show-business success story that focuses on his self-reinvention. - 80
New York Daily News
More than just a one-name star of pop culture’s alternative history, Divine’s story — terrorized by bullies, embraced by the outré, where he finds a home — stands for “all the outsiders,” as Waters says (between hilarious anecdotes). - 75
New York Post
Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary is a fine, touching tribute to John Waters’ larger-than-life drag diva, Divine. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
An enjoyably naughty trip through Divine's career that happily makes time to introduce us to Glenn Milstead, the sweet kid and fledgling hairdresser who transformed himself so daringly. - 70
Village Voice
A worthy documentary tribute to the drag queen icon. - 70
Los Angeles Times
On the evidence of the documentary I Am Divine, to know the drag star Divine was to love him. - 63
Slant Magazine
Though it may boil down to your average procession-of-talking-heads template, it's still enlivened by the raucous words from the band of outsiders who supported and launched Divine into the limelight.
