Mr Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder

by John Waters

The newest essay collection from the New York Times–bestselling John Waters, reflecting on how to overcome newfound respectability and rebel in the autumn of your years.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Memoir, Biography, Audiobook, Essays, Film

382 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2019

About the author

John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, personality, visual artist and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films: Pink Flamingos and Hairspray. He is recognizable by his pencil-thin moustache.

Reviews

[Hank Stuever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly enjoyable, especially when he brings us into the private, day-to-day details of his daily existence -- his thoughts on air travel, summers in Provincetown, the inevitability of age and death. I was less fascinated by recollections from his movie-making heyday, though I do believe he has an extremely healthy, realistic relationship to show business. I also appreciated that he has no hang-ups about sharing dollar figures -- how much was he was paid to make a certain movie, what the movie's budget was, and how it fared at the box office (usually a bomb). His honesty (about all things, including human filth) is what makes him such a captivating person. He's trash, which is to say he's treasure.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is only one John Waters, and he chooses to present his memoir in the form of a "how-to-be-me" advice column. Life, death and "Chutes and Ladders board game known as show business." He covers it all. It's fair to say he doesn't suffer fools lightly, but is also the best kind of friend to those he holds dear, providing opportunity for what could probably be called outsiders and in whom he recognizes gold. Much as he likes to smash hypocrisy with his outlaw personna, underneath he really is a mensch. There were places I laughed out loud (calling 50 Cent "...the Donald Trump-meets-Chick-fil-A of rap").

[Amy Bruestle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review...

I absolutely hate to “DNF” books, especially giveaways...but this just wasn’t going to cut it...I was suffering through just to get to where I’m at now. Very boring and repetitive. Plus, the author talks about all these different people as if we know who they are. Of course there are a few names that are widely known, but the majority aren’t. I just had a tough time with this one.

[Seema Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irreverant ~ Well-written ~ Charming ~ Relevant

tl;dr: Memoir of John Waters is actually basically a book about life

John Waters is an old fav of mine. So, that his book would be extraordinary didn't surprise me. However, what surprised me was how relevant this book felt. That a man who started out making outsider movies in Baltimore could speak to me, an asian woman about 40 years younger, highlights the depth of the book. In a series of short essays, Waters talks about his career, but also about loss, about coming to terms with aging, love, jealousy, and regret. His book is really for anyone who wants a well-written, thoughful memoir about life. (And, if you happen to think Pink Flamingos is hilarious, you double win.) I love John Waters, sure, so I'm biased. But, honestly, I challenge any lover of memoir to try this one. They will thoroughly enjoy it, and if not, well, they can jump off a bridge (though I would guess John Waters has more colorful terms for what they could do.)

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC In exchange for an honest review.


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[Davina · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Waters is one of my favorite people and this book is worth reading to hear about his LSD trip with Mink Stole alone. Some of the essays got kind of unwieldy, but in general I enjoyed this book.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to be able to give this book a better rating. I like John Waters. I have seen some of his work over the years, and enjoy his contributions on talk shows such as Real Time with Bill Maher. I purchased the audio book, as I like hearing people’s stories told in their own voices, and I was not disappointed with that aspect. I went into this fully aware of who John Waters is and his love of taking things too far. His writing did not offend me in the least. Worse yet, it was just plain tedious. The first part was quite good, and had the whole book been more like it, I would have enjoyed it much more. Hearing about his family, childhood, and experiences with filmmaking was funny and interesting. On the other hand, his descriptions of the ideal restaurant, house, and funeral were too lengthy and boring. Had I been reading this and not listening to it, I probably would have skimmed over those sections. I wasn’t sure what kind of book it was trying to be. It seemed to don too many hats, and that confusion detracted from what the book could have been. I’m not sorry I took the time to listen to this book, but I certainly was relieved when it was over.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, here's the thing to keep in mind when it comes to Mr. Know-It-All by John Waters - the information in the book is profane and can be descriptively graphic, but what tempers that is Waters' writing does not appear to be of the style to demean or to humiliate with venom. It is more of a style of telling things like they are and not being shy about it.

Mr. Know-It-All is a humorous memoir by John Waters that covers almost any topic imaginable: From his growing up, movie making, his unapologetic lifestyle, to his openness about all matters related to his sexuality, to current popular culture.

An overall, humourous and entertaining book, especially for those familiar with John Waters.

[Vivian]

DNF 20%

I stopped not because I didn't like the writing, but because I think I'm burnt out on autobiographies/biographies at the moment. Waters is funny and his wit is sharp. There's some interesting deconstruction of his own works about what worked and what didn't with a sleigh-full of gossip about the cast and crew. Might be TMI for some people or the juicy bits that others are looking for.

Anyway, no rating because I hope to give it a go again.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dispatches from my spiritual leader are always welcome. This one was particularly enjoyable in terms of 1) a whole chapter on Cry Baby 2) lots of songs to look up on Spotify 3) the idea of buying cemetery plots with your friends. I will definitely be doing the Madison on your grave one day, John Waters, if I don't keel over before you do.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ive been a fan or Waters from day one and have read all of his previous books. This one is a departure—more a how to guide to succeed in the modern world without sacrificing your individuality. Buttressed by tales of his movie making and home life, this memoir/how to is fascinating reading for anyone — not just Waters fans. Highly Reccommended.

[V. Briceland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Know-It-All, John Waters' latest memoir, suffers in the same way as Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?—the chapters in which the two entertainers explore their careers within film and television are wildly entertaining, yet don't quite fill out the publisher's minimum word count. The chapters added as obvious padding, for both books, are often painful to read.

Waters' reminiscences about the latter half of his directing career, from Polyester to A Dirty Shame, are some of the most engaging chapters I've ever read in a Hollywood memoir; they're equal parts fascinating trivia and juicy gossip, written in a breathless style that had me frequently laughing aloud and gasping with horror. (Perhaps both, with the revelation that Carol Channing had campaigned hard for the part of hillbilly grandma Ramona Ricketts, in Cry-Baby.) If the book had been those chapters alone, it would've been an unqualified five-star read.

It would also have been a mighty slim volume.

The bulk of the memoir is largely comprised of chapters—some largely imagined, not lived—in which Waters writes about whatever the hell is on his mind as if he's being paid by the word, with varying amounts of success. A chapter about taking LSD in Provincetown at the age of 70 charms, mostly because Waters is a Tim Gunn-level of persnickety about planning the adventure down to the snacks and the playlists; another chapter about Andy Warhol, written entirely in looooooong one-sentence paragraphs, flops harder than Cecil B. Demented. Most of these installments, including one in which Waters envisions clawing his way out of his grave, are simply tortuous to page through.

More disappointing are Waters' increasingly-reactionary views. Much of the book reads like the ravings of an out-and-out crank. Not one of the fun, nutty cranks that populate Waters' older films—the elderly, crabby, unpleasant kinds of cranks you dread having to endure at holiday dinners. Waters fat-shames repeatedly throughout the volume (despite Hairspray) and expresses his discontent with modern drag (despite Divine); he indulges in conspiracy theories with little whimsy. He's convinced that mosquitos that fly beneath EZ-Pass transponders are carrying mutated diseases, and thinks that telling a long and convoluted story about the driver of his BoltBus stopping his trip to take a dump qualifies as literary entertainment. When a drag queen calls him 'girl,' he rants and raves about the horrible indignity he has suffered.

Waters basically has become an old poop. He even dedicates a chapter to imagining a house fortified with contraptions designed to repel visitors—a long and tedious read that could simply have been summed up with a succinct, 'Get off my lawn, you damned kids!' I'm disappointed to see one of my cultural heroes becoming not only such a crabby old fart, but betraying the legacy of his own progressive films.

[Rob Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Waters may be an acquired taste, but I’ve been a longtime fan even (and especially) of his earlier, most over-the-top films. His books are a bit uneven, ranging from consistently surprising and hysterically funny (“Crackpot”, “Role Models”) to only intermittently so (“Carsick”). This one falls somewhere in between.

For fans of his films, the book begins with behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the making of all of his films from “Polyester” (a favorite of mine) through his last to date, “A Dirty Shame”. For that alone, it’s worth the purchase price for true fans. Once that’s out of the way, he riffs on various subjects, from politics to ridiculously precious restaurants (in two of my least favorite chapters), Provincetown (his summer home), his anti-dream house (a brutalist concrete nightmare full of toxic plants), his musical obsessions (fun), bizarre sex clubs (not for the squeamish), and documents his acid trip at age 73 with original Dreamlander Mink Stole and a local P-town friend. There are many laughs to be had along the way, but some of his humor I found not just twisted, which is fine, but mean-spirited, which put me off a bit at times...particularly in “Gristle”, his chapter imagining the world’s worst restaurant. This surprised me a bit as though he may be a “filth elder” as the subtitle has it, he’s generally kind and tolerant of even the most bizarre people, and it doesn’t seem like the Waters I know and love.

I’ve seen this framed as something of a “self help book” for eccentric auteurs in both professional and Goodreads reviews, but that’s not how it reads to me; there’s a bit of exhortation here but beyond the personal anecdotes, this is principally Waters’s generally amusing, demented spin on various facets of popular and high culture. I’d say it’s a must for Waters initiates and fans; other readers coming in cold may just not get it unless they’re possessed of a dark and twisted sense of humor. As always with John Waters, you’re likely to really like it, or recoil in horror.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

After seeing John Waters deliver a really good graduation speech on youtube, I wanted to hear more of this "filth elder's" advice to outsiders: he's quirky, hilarious and yet keeps it real. The book is strangely motivating and always charming, for a book that is essentially a memoir about surviving the alternative lifestyle until age 70 (and living it large...there are a lot of surprising revelations in here, I think) and making (mostly underground/cult) movies. The audiobook is a fabulous treat. His insider/backstage looks at actors and his reflections on doing crazy things with celebrities was mildly interesting, but Waters' probing of his own motives, psychology and attitude was far more engaging, and I laughed and even identified a lot. His motivation for artists to just be as weird as they want to be is a winner. A tribute to libertines who have survived the late 20th century, and a mostly good discussion of the generation-gap today and how times have changed, without being obnoxiously older or holier-than-thou. Indeed, John Waters is hipper than any hipster and kingly cool. Waters deserves his success and he earned the right to tell these stories with authority. Definitely opt for hearing him tell these stories on audio; his personality comes beaming through, as if you were sitting on a velvet couch right next to him, sipping cocktails.

[Alvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waters tells a lot of terrific behind-the-scene stories about the making his movies, then moves on to topical essays. A few of these are, I'm sorry to say, pointless and annoying advertisements for his own eccentricity. (The worst is a protracted whine about flying that reminded me of 60 Minutes' Andy Rooney). Fortunately, the bulk of the essays are either brilliant and/or amusing, and his analysis of Andy Warhol is worth the price of the book.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I’m not a real satanist, of course, especially after Anton LaVey and his church of Satan made it so showbiz cheesy in the sixties. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have a thing to wear to a goat sacrifice."

I love John Waters. I hope I die before he does so he can show up to my funeral in an extravagant outfit, carrying a huge black umbrella. He stands at the head of my coffin with his eyes down while he plays pop goes the weasel. Then he looks up with that signature smirk.

RTC

[Jim Cabaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted the wisdom of a gay godfather? Telling you about sex, drugs, monkey art, and death? John Waters is your man. Giving you his wisdom that will make you laugh till your stomach hurts. I made the mistake of taking it on vacation with me making my friends listen to excerpts that caused them to laugh.

John Waters also dishes on his success and those that he has worked with. For this of you who have loved all the versions of Hairspray from the orginal movie to the Broadway Show to the movie based on the Broadway Show there is a chapter for you. If you loved Polyster and Cry Baby, you have heaping scopes of dish.

The biggest lesson I learned was on stalking your heroes or celebrities. Maybe I should find my way to Providencetown and stalk a certain author over the summer? Lol! I loved how he called up a favorite singer to ask lots of questions. I would love a call from Mr Waters, My phone number is.......

I highly recommend this autobiographical tour de force. Beware, you might laugh at stuff that may not be in good taste or politically correct but you will secretly love it. Filled with charm and laughter, kick back and enjoy.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went back and forth on whether I should give this 4 or 5 stars. My deep-rooted fandom won out.

I purposefully went the audiobook route on this one because listening to JW dish is one of my favorite pastimes.

If I were to nitpick, I'd say that the title is misleading. Imparting wisdom often felt like an auxiliary function of the book, while riffing on topics near and dear to the author seemed to be the main thrust. There were certain chapters ("Betsy" and "My Brutalist Dream House") that read a bit like zesty Wiki entries. When I heard JW thank his research assistants in his acknowledgments, I understood why these chapters didn't resonate with me like others did—they hinged on borrowed insights, not his own. I much preferred his more personal chapters, the ones in which JW puts fun facts aside in favor of more sincere reflections (see: "Flashback" and "Grim Reaper").

On the whole, the book delivered on my expectations. It gave me irreverence and bawdiness, as well as glimmers of wistfulness and sentimentality, which made for an overall enjoyable read.

[Ai Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will say first that I received a review copy of this book through a GoodReads Giveaway, and I'm grateful to the publisher for the opportunity to read this.

This was kind of mixed; the first half is maybe interesting for fans of Waters's entire filmography, and the stories maybe around Hairspray were interesting. He's missed the boat on making fun of trans people, especially young trans people, which is a pity because I think if he stopped for a second to listen to any trans people make jokes, he'd find a lot of us funny.

He's at his best, I think, when he goes sort of buckwild and wonderfully crass--"My Son, Bill" is the best essay in this entire book and it's so delightfully wicked and funny; it reminded me of early David Sedaris in the best way. (I mean Barrel Fever Sedaris, for the record.) "My Brutalist Dream House" is also very funny. But sometimes he comes across as out of touch generationally or even just sort of boring. There's kind of a lot of whiplash going on here, which is a pity, but when it's good, it's very, delightfully good.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Waters’ appeal is difficult to put into words. There's a certain point of view, a certain aesthetic to his work that I find irresistible. He revels in bad taste and trash culture, to the point where he manages to redefine it into his own personal brand of cool. His gleeful enthusiasm is contagious, and his books are compulsively readable. A world without John Waters in it would be much more boring and dismal indeed.

This book is something of a direct successor to both Shock Value and Crackpot, his first two books. Mr. Know-It-All picks up his career as a movie director where Shock Value left off, with chapters devoted to each of his later films, from Polyester through to A Dirty Shame. The rest of the book features essays on assorted topics, a la Crackpot, and touches on Art, Provincetown, Music, Death, Divine, Andy Warhol, and more.

A new John Waters book is always a cause for celebration. His point of view is uniquely his own, and highly addictive to those in the know. Highly recommended!

[MC]

I received a NetGalley copy and, unfortunately, DNF'd this about 15% of the way in. I read John Waters' book Carsick, about his weird and wild hitchhiking journey across America. And, although I'm not really a fan of his work, there's a part of me that can appreciate his counter-culture approach to life and art.

This book is a mish-mash of hyper-specific advice based on key moments in his career. They don't feel particularly applicable and didn't hold my interest. After a fairly fun and insane introduction, Mr. Know-It-All quickly peters out. I recommend this for die-hard fans of John Waters that want a little more insight into key moments in his career and history. For general readers, this book isn't as palatable as Carsick and doesn't really offer any good nuggets of applicable advice.

[Beth Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of John Waters last three books, this one is my favorite. MR. KNOW-IT-ALL is a true companion to SHOCK VALUE. It's part memoir, advice book, and fantasist imaginings. He covers the parts of his life and film-making career that SHOCK VALUE was written too early to include. There's more than a hint of mortality being on his mind. He acknowledges friends and loved ones lost, buys his own grave, and discusses his eventual decomposition, yet he is fully committed to living life the John Waters way with plenty of humor and excitement, including sharing he is writing his first novel. If you're a fan, definitely pick this one up in book or audio form!

[Christopher McQuain · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7, to split hairs. This very loose collection of rants and recollections is noticeably more slapdash and spotty than the equally funny but much better disciplined CRACKPOT. However, some ambitious bits do attain an inspired philosophical absurdity; and Waters's annoyed indignation at the whole decidedly unsatisfactory, mediocre world, articulated in his uniquely perturbed tone, is still enough to make me laugh out loud when he lets it soar.

[Morgan Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean I could spend forever gushing about how much I love John Waters. But I will save you the trouble of reading rambling paragraphs cataloging my devotion. Instead I will do my best and keep it short. He is dark and comedic and I laughed out loud so much. Whether he was describing making his later movies or the drugs people take. Please read, I'm sure you'll laugh

[Leo Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best bits are his lessons from making films and the stories behind them, as well as his opinions on fame and the best ways to live (always be touring, listen to new music etc.)
His comedic riffs on various topics--flying, death etc--amusing but less so.

Worth a read!!

[Lana Revok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oddly enough John Waters makes me want to be a better person.

[Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

John shares stories from on-set of all his films plus his usual amazing advice. Great fun, easy read!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this in the car and it was hilarious. Of course, because it is John Waters, he goes seriously off the rails in a few of the chapters but honestly what else would you expect? This provided the much needed laugh I really needed and I really enjoyed it. I always prefer listening to his books because he reads them himself and he is a fantastic story teller and honestly one of the last truly original artists still out there. So if you are a fan of John Waters, listen to this book. 4 stars and best "reads" (Listens, in this case.) pile.

[lilias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love John Waters. I am always delighted when he shows up unexpectedly in something I’m watching (most recently was Search Party.) I’ve always loved his enthusiastic glee that accompanies his outsider mentality; he’s never gone the unexpected route for jaded reasons because it’s cool to be a rebel, he’s not jaded!

Which brings me to why I have this book 3 stars instead of the expected 4 or 5: Several chapters of this book just seem angry, and it’s sad to read the words of an apparently bitter John Waters. I hope he was just having a bad day that was made worse when asked for padding in his otherwise marvelous memoir, because we all have bad days in which we are angry. Thing is, anger can make us boring. That’s what happens in these chapters (to name a few: Gristle, My Brutalist Dream House, My Son, Bill…), they’re boring! Tedious, even, in their bitter crankiness. And angry, jaded, bitter, cranky, and boring are the very last things I expect from the usually charming, hilarious, and unabashed John Waters. The first half of the book is delightful, but I recommend Shock Value in its entirety instead; I read it a long time ago but trust younger me.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isn't it great we live in a world where a 70-something can still gross me out? That's the genius of John Waters. He lulls you in and then blam! You're laughing and nauseated and then laughing again. Still love John after all these years. His books are always a reminder of his talent and Mr. Know-It-All is no exception. John discusses everything in his life from every film he's done to summers he's spent in Ptown. My two favorite chapters were his tribute to his son, Bill and imaging his funeral. We need more John Waters in our lives. Laugh. Gross. Laugh. In that order.

p.s. my favorite Waters' films continue to be Hairspray (the original with Divine) and Serial Mom.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first several chapters that were actually about his movies. Having grown up in the 1980s and 1990s in the suburbs just outside of Baltimore, my family has always watched his films over the years, and it was great being reminded of casting and absurd storylines from some of them. The second half of the book is just a series of essays/creative nonfiction type writing that were sort of hit or miss. I skimmed through most of these because I just wasn't that interested in reading about his gross fictitious restaurant idea, or an LSD trip of septugenarians. That said,, probably wouldn't recommend the book to anyone who isn't a pretty big fan. 2.5 stars rounded up.