Lust in the Dust Reviews

Flamboyant 300-pound female impersonator Divine and aging matinee idol Tab Hunter are reunited (they starred together in POLYESTER) in this totally unfunny, mindless, and tasteless spoof on the western genre. The film opens as a very serious-sounding narrator tells us the film is about "men and women who become slaves to their passions," and then we see the huge Divine, dressed in a massive, colorful Mexican skirt, riding a mule half his size. The poor beast soon dies, and Divine is gang-raped by a group of desperados led by Geoffrey Lewis. Eventually Divine is rescued by a gunslinger of few words, Hunter, and together they venture to the town of Chili Verde, which is run by prostitute-singer-saloon owner Lainie Kazan and her semi-intelligent thug, Henry Silva. Divine and Hunter soon learn the town secret that a gold cache is hidden away somewhere nearby and the whole town is after it. Director Bartel rarely hits the comedic mark, instead falling back on vulgarity and grade-school toilet humor for an attempt at laughs. A total failure, LUST IN THE DUST would be offensive if it wasn't so stupid.