Trivia: After the film was given an NC-17 rating, director John Waters asked what he'd need to cut to get the film an R-rating. He was told by the ratings board that "after a while, we stopped taking notes." He was also told that the film would only be about 10 minutes long if he cut out everything they objected to. Waters and the studio then decided to simply release the film uncut with its NC-17 rating.
Trivia: Co-star Suzanne Shepherd first read the script, and was absolutely horrified by the explicit sexual content. She broke down crying and begged to not do the film. However, she changed her mind when she met director John Waters, who managed to convince her to stay on.
Trivia: An edited, R-rated cut of the film was eventually released on DVD in certain much-more conservative retailer stores (such as Wal-Mart) and video-rental establishments when the film hit home media. Dubbed "The Neuter Version," the R-rated cut is infamous for almost comically redubbing virtually all profanities in the film, pixelating obscene material, and replacing shots of nude characters with shots of fully clothed characters. (Thus ruining several jokes.) It also has some of the film's more famous moments removed entirely. Director John Waters, who was utterly mystified at this version of the film, has stated that the Neuter version is only for "brainless people" or "really weird collectors."
