Sorry, this movie sucks

One of my all time favorites.

Fantastic!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Cult wizard John Waters' first major studio film at the heels of the moderate success of HAIRSPRAY (1988), CRY-BABY is Johnny Depp's springboard from small screen to silver screen in his salad days.It is 1954 in Baltimore, Wade Walker, aka, Cry-Baby (Depp) is the leader of the "drapes" gang, a group of delinquents including the core five, Cry-Baby, his litter sister Pepper (Lake), a chubby teenage mother of two and expecting a third, "bad girl" Wanda (the pornography actress Lords), the facially disfigured Gothic-looking Hatchet Face (McGuire) and her boyfriend Milton (Burrows). They form a band and Cry-Baby is the leader singer, aping Elvis Presley with the uproarious rockabilly panache.Pigeonholed in the rebel teen sub-genre, it is a standard bad-boy-good-girl-meet-cute fairy-tale, Cry-Baby brazenly asks out a "square" girl, Allison Vernon-Williams (Locane) from the Doo-wop pervaded, orthodox talent show presided by Allison's prudish grandmother (Bergen), and brings her to the Turkish Point, the venue of Drapes' gatherings, run by Cry-Baby's grandmother Ramona (a no-holds-barred Tyrrell, ravishes in French-kissing Iggy Pop and her outré garment, scantly 18- year senior to Depp, at the age of 45, it is plain ageism to place her in the grotesque grandma role).Cry-Baby's provocative action enrages Allison's current square boyfriend Baldwin (Mailer), who marshals a clutch of squares raid the Turkish Point, and a scuffle ensues, which leads to Cry- Baby's imprisonment. After a procession of dashing musical numbers (even the dance-shy Depp shows off his not-so-dazzling routines in the penitentiary) and knockabout adventures, Cry-Baby and Baldwin settles a score in a puerile chicken-race. But the penetrating playfulness retains without sagging until Cry-Baby's trademark single teardrop singularly materialises in the countenances of all and sundry in the finale.In all fairness, CRY-BABY is engaging in the characterisation of the eccentric group's rebellious spirit and the contrast between their unconventional looks and wholesome communal affinities, as a musical, the set pieces can still manage to bring down the house for nostalgic spectators. But it is also undeniable that the acting is camp to the hilt (but the late Tyrrell and Bergen are getting my sympathy votes), a feebly tangible, largely implausible narrative doesn't go anywhere other than off-hand caricature and shallow braggadocio, only Depp holds out by imprinting his personal charisma onto his green but heart-throbbing teen idol image, at the age of 27, he was paving his way to be the most maverick and audacious A-list actor in the 90s on USA soil before eventually bowing to the recruitment from Disney, and being tiresomely tapped as Jack Sparrow, a one-trick- pony who has spawned a lucrative but ebbing franchise.

"No, she's a scrape - part square, part drape. I think she's pretty."Johnny Depp was on his way to becoming typecast as a teen idol when in 1990 he was given the opportunity to play two odd roles. One was his first collaboration with Tim Burton in Edward Scissorhands which remains one of his most iconic characters to date, and the other an often forgotten and overlooked musical comedy directed by the eccentric John Waters. This was my introduction to his particular brand of filmmaking and I had a fun time with it. Clocking in at under 75 minutes the film knows when the humor is running out of steam and manages to end before the novelty begins to wear down. The movie is a parody of 50's teen rebel films and it spoofs musicals like Grease. The only thing I knew about Waters before going into this film was the remake I had seen of his original musical, Hairspray. I now can see why he has a cult following since his style isn't conventional and the experience is a unique one. It's Johnny Depp who carries the film with his charm and good looks making fun of our conception of the cool rebel character, which in a way is the way audiences conceive the actor in real life. The characters in this film seem to be having so much fun that the ridiculous and over the top parody is simply contagious. It's so energetic and playful that it's hard not to watch it with a smile on your face. Johnny Depp plays the titular character, Cry-Baby, who is called that because of his capability of shedding a single tear from his left eye that drives the girls crazy. He's a bad boy who loves fast paced cars and hangs around the cool group known as the Drapes. The sweet girl in his school who falls for him is Allison Vernon (Amy Locane). She's a square because she belongs to the traditional side of town who are very much against the drape lifestyle and culture. Allison is tired of being the good girl and she eventually wins Cry-Baby's heart who introduces her to his circle of friends: Wanda (Traci Lords), Pepper (Ricki Lake) who already has two children and is pregnant with the third, Hatchet-Face (Kim McGuire) and her boyfriend Milton (Darren E. Burrows). Even though Cry-Baby is part of the drape culture he is more polite than the rest of his gang and eventually they all accept Allison as one of their own. Her boyfriend, Baldwin (Stephen Mailer), however isn't too happy that Allison is hanging out with these bad boys and decides to give them a lesson. Meanwhile, one of Cry-Baby's many admirers is Lenora (Kim Webb), who isn't happy Allison is hanging around the man she loves, and she too will do what it takes to keep them apart even if it means making up a story that she's pregnant with his baby. The musical is very energetic and a lot of fun. There are several memorable scenes including a jailbreak attempt that is hilarious. Locane and Depp have irresistible charm together and they seem to have had a fun time working together with this offbeat comedy written by Waters himself. There are also some catchy songs with decent choreography including Doin' Time For Bein' Young, Please, Mr. Jailer, and Teardrops Are Falling. The 50's soundtrack is just so much fun and enhances the musical's energy even more. John Waters also included a hilarious orphanage scene where the children were displayed like animals in a zoo. The character of Hatchet Face probably evoked the most laughs with her crazy look and there's a hilarious scene in which she pops out of a movie screen while the prisoners were watching a 3D horror movie and they all jumped out of their seats horrified by her look. There is also a cameo from Willem Dafoe as a prison guard that evoked some chuckles as well. The predictable premise of the film could've turned this into a familiar bore, but Waters knows how to come up with innovative and fresh ideas with his unique brand of humor. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

It's the class of '54 in a Baltimore high school. Wade 'Cry-Baby' Walker (Johnny Depp) leads a group of leather wearing outcasts called the drapes. There's his pregnant sister Pepper (Ricki Lake), Mona 'Hatchet Face' Malnorowski, Hatchet Face's boyfriend Milton Hackett, and Wanda Woodward (Traci Lords) who is embarrassed by her nice parents. Allison Vernon-Williams (Amy Locane) is tired of being good and falls in love with Cry-Baby. Her grandmother (Polly Bergen) disapproves. Cry-Baby takes Allison to the drapes' hangout Turkey Point. Both find commonality in being orphans from unusual circumstances. Cry-Baby was raised by his grandparents (Susan Tyrrell, Iggy Pop). Lenora Frigid is obsessed with Cry-Baby and jealous of Allison.John Waters has some fun with this campy take on the 50s teenage rebellion movie. It's kinda cool and Depp is the perfect guy to have all the girls falling for him. Everything is played for camp but it's not actually funny. It's perfect for cult status. Some may laugh at its ridiculousness. I really only laughed at Wanda and her parents. They have a funny kind of dysfunction.

A small and funny film shot in the late 1980s (1989-1990), at the end of Reagan's era and in the middle of George Bush Senior's regency, has no pretension except to debunk everything and everyone and make fun of a system that is as crooked as it is full of bigotry. A remake of the Mods and the Rockers, of the Jets and the Sharks, the Montague and the Capulet, American sauce on top and whip cream to top it off and kick it up. But this multiple remake is so overloaded with clichés and prejudices that it becomes hilarious and the objective is to make us laugh at those biases and other preconceived ideas about the other group, since the whole world is nothing but A versus B.At the same time the film debunks fake education based on square ideas being the best in the world, on some clean type of dressing being the only decent, godlike and non-obscene way of dressing, all the rest, jeans and everything else, being nothing but homosexual showing off especially for girls who are supposed to wear decent dresses.You add a love story in that viper nest and you have a real Romeo and a genuine Juliet. But the world must have changed because the judge is falling in love with Juliet's grandmother and he becomes sentimental and releases Romeo, alias Cry Baby. I must admit that the prison break is definitely as good as all those we were able to examine and/or supervise in the eponymous TV series. And do not forget that the best way to get out of trouble is to follow the rat. Rats are best to get out of the way, out of trouble and back to home security, I do not mean the security of your home.The film is fabulous as for the music of the late 1950s, actually dated thanks to the evening prayer in the very special school for boys where the "boys" are supposed to thank Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. That's cool indeed. Be it only for the music the film is worth its eighty-two minutes, but the "dancing" and the performance of the actors, particularly the very young Johnny Depp is refreshing in this world where everything is nothing but special effect and make believe.An excellent piece of dialogue alluding to the famous Unabomber who was definitely literate and had been active in the bombing business since 1978 at the time when the film was made.Cry-Baby: That's right, Allison. My father was the "Alphabet Bomber." He may have been crazy, but he was my pop. Only one I ever had. Allison: God. I heard about the Alphabet Bomber. Bombs exploding in the... in the airport and barber shop... Cry-Baby: That's right. All in alphabetical order. Car wash... drug store... I used to lay in my crib and hear him scream in his sleep..."A,B,C,D,E,F,G... BOOM! BOOM!" Allison: But your mom... Cry-Baby: My mother tried to stop him. She couldn't even spell, for Christ's sake, but they fried her too.Have one empathetic thought for this man who is in prison for life.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU