Best movie of this year hands down!

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"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.

In 1950s Baltimore, a bad-boy with a heart of gold (Johnny Depp) wins the love of a good-girl (Amy Locane), whose grandmother (Polly Bergen) smells like moth balls and turkey grease.I like the quirkiness of John Waters and he really has assembled an impressive cast here (catching Depp before he became even bigger). But I just did not get all that attached to the film, primarily because of the singing. I am sure the music that turned me off is the same reason many people love the film, but I just could not get into it.I still think it is worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of Waters, Depp or Ricki Lake. Seeing Amy Locane in a prominent role was cool, and it is a shame she never quite made it to A-list star level (though she made it further than Jill Schoelen).

First and foremost, this is a spot on parody of 1950's juvenile delinquent films. If you've never seen any of the old movies it's making fun of...or if you just don't get satire...then you may not like Cry Baby. But if you're fan of Rebel Without a Cause, The Wild One, The Deliquents, etc...well, then you simply shouldn't miss this film.Wade 'Cry Baby' Walker is the bad boy who is, in reality, not so bad. He has a soft side and is in love with the squeaky clean good girl, Allison. Their affair causes a rift between the two social factions of Baltimore, the rich kid 'Squares' and the cool kid 'Drapes'. The characters are way over the top, the dialog is oh so clichéd....and that's what makes it fantastic! The soundtrack doesn't hurt either! Just like Waters' Hairspray, the soundtrack is almost a lead character itself. Even the choreographed, production numbers (which is something I'd normally hate) are extremely enjoyable because they're such obvious jabs at Elvis movie song sequences.The cast of this film is just amazing. Johnny Depp is supremo hot and Amy Locane is great considering she was only 19 and just starting her career. Iggy Pop is PERFECT and absolutely adorable as Uncle Belvedere. Ricky Lake, Traci Lords and the rest of the 'gang' are a hoot! And of course there's Patty Hearst, Willem Defoe, and the legendary Polly Bergen and lovely Joey Heatherton (you'll find her unrecognizable as Milton's sourpuss, bible thumping mother!) The best thing about the cast though, was the inclusion of some of the actual old teen stars from the '50s in cameos: David Nelson, Troy Donahue. Fun script, fun cast...just FUN all around! 9/10