'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' review: The smell test

So, a failure? Not at all. A direct homage, to John Waters, who might even appreciate the gesture if he knew what a "Honey Boo Boo" was. Audiences who attended his 1981 farce (for want of a better word) "Polyester" also got a smell card -- and doubtless some of those smells corresponded to Divine, Waters' favorite star, who died in 1988 and directly anticipated a TV culture that would one day esteem Mama June and her porcine brood. In fact, "Boo Boo" is critic-proof. Call it vulgar, call it schlock, call it a cup of flatulence, call it whatever you like. But John Waters called it first: America loves its trash culture, smells and all.

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