Francine Fishpaw (Divine) is a troubled housewife trapped in suburban Baltimore. Her household is a disaster--her husband is the philandering proprietor of a sleazy movie theater, her daughter performs lewd dances in her high school cafeteria for money, her son is a predatory foot fetishist, and the family pet is suicidal. After she hits alcoholic rock bottom, along comes Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), a dreamboat who runs an art-house drive-in theater. But is he really as angelic as he seems' Francine may require the help of her eccentric nouveau riche best friend, Cuddles (Edith Massey), to discover the truth.

Inspired by soap operas and weepy 1950s melodramas, John Waters combines the conventions of that genre (soft lighting, teary organ music) with William Castle-like gimmickry for what was, upon its release, his most polished, biggest budgeted film. The original theatrical release was presented in Odorama--an innovative technique that allowed the audience to smell the movie with the aid of a scented card featuring the same scents Francine picks up with her overactive olfactory powers. Divine gives yet another wonderful comedic performance, and '50s idol Hunter proves that he's game for anything.