Pela, Robrt L. 1962-

views updated

PELA, Robrt L. 1962-

PERSONAL: Born February 3, 1962, in Niles, OH; son of Nicholas J. Pela (a retired carpenter); partner of Todd Grossman (a gymnastics coach). Ethnicity: "Italian."

ADDRESSES: Home—707 West Willetta St., Phoenix, AZ 85007. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Freelance writer. Contributor to National Public Radio's Morning Edition.

WRITINGS:

Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters, Alyson Books (Los Angeles, CA), 2002.

Contributor of columns, articles, and book and theatre reviews to periodicals, including Men's Fitness, New Times, and Advocate.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Pantywaist: Confessions of a Great Big Sissy.

SIDELIGHTS: Writer Robrt L. Pela chronicles the life of filmmaker John Waters in a book that Martha E. Stone dubbed a "breezy biography-filmography" in her review for Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide. Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters focuses on the iconoclastic American filmmaker, beginning with Waters's middle-class Baltimore upbringing. Readers follow as Waters moves to Greenwich Village in the 1960s, where he attends film school and spends time with artist Andy Warhol; Pela's book then delves into Waters's career working with notorious actor/actress Divine and making such cult-film classics as Hair-spray, Pink Flamingos, and Polyester, as well as more restrained motion pictures such as Pecker.

Filthy features minimal film reviews; rather, Pela focuses on Waters's own commentary on his films. He also includes a brief chapter titled "Faggots, Fat Women, and Puke: The Bluffer's Guide to Recurring Imagery and Motifs in John Waters Films," in which the filmmaker's inspirations and motives are discussed. A critic for Kirkus Reviews stated that this chapter is "as close as we get to Waters's deepest motivations, which remain mysterious." A Publishers Weekly reviewer found the book's approach lacking writing that, "Instead of offering Waters fans a useful update, Pela recycles information about the earlier films." As a reviewer for the Lambda Book Report stated, Pela's work is "part sassy critical study, part cut-and-paste biography." However, most critics maintained that fans of Waters's films will ultimately appreciate Filthy because its irreverent tone reflects Waters's films themselves.

Pela told CA: "I have worked as a writer for most of my adult life, mainly so that I don't have to get a job. I'm motivated mostly by my desire to loaf; working as a writer means taking a lot of naps and procrastinating, both activities at which I excel."