Cry-Baby is John
Water’s tribute to the age of rock – the 50s, juvenile
delinquency, and the age old relationship of teenage rebellion vs.
adulthood. Released in 1990 to some critical success and
unfortunately low box office, it has since garnered a cult status
(and possible new Broadway musical) and Waters’ is now releasing
this director’s cut with some originally scrapped scenes put back
in. The musical comedy takes place in Baltimore, circa 1954, at
the dawn of rock n’ roll where teenagers are subdivided into two
distinct groups: the squares and the drapes. The squares are your
typical 50s squares: crew cuts, varsity jackets, cleaned up kids
getting ready for college, and the drapes are the white T-shirt,
leather jacket wearing, slick back haired never-do-wells.
The leader of the
drapes, Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker (Johnny Depp), is a delinquent orphan
whose father was executed as the infamous Alphabet Bomber. He forever
has a tear that slides half-way down his cheek serving as a reminder
of his horrible, tragic past. Cry-Baby’s gang is mostly made up of
his band mates (including Traci Lords as the bad girl Wanda) and his
pregnant sister Pepper (RickiLake)
and her boyfriend. They hang out on the wrong side of the tracks at a
spot called Turkey Point run by Cry-Baby’s grandparents (Iggy Pop and
Susan Tyrell), a rock n’ roll couple helping the drapes be the rock n’
roll gang they need to be.
At school, Cry-Baby
meets Allison (Amy Locane), a square who is developing a huge crush
for the dangerous Cry-Baby. It’s not long before Cry-Baby steals her
away from her boyfriend (Stephen Mailer) and Allison starts becoming a
drape (Pepper calls her a ‘scrape’- half square, half drape) at the
horror of her square pals and uptight grandmother (Polly Bergen).
This sets off the inevitable squares vs. drapes showdown that could
tear the couple apart forever or possibly bring together a teenage
culture.
CRITIQUE
Cry-Baby is one of two
John Water’s films that can be considered mainstream (Hairspray
the other) and not coincidentally this (along with Hairspray)
is definitely one of his best. The film is a musical tribute to the
50s (the looks, music and films of that decade) and the main theme is
teenage rebellion and how in any decade adults struggle to understand
them and instead of trying to, they ostracize those that do things
differently. The 50s just happened to be a decade where this was
distinctly obvious with the looks of the delinquents captured by slick
hair, white T-shirts, leather jackets, cigarettes, and rock n’ roll.
Waters captures this with his typical eccentric characters, great rock
n’ roll musical numbers, terrific and energized performances, and his
flair for mixing the weird and somewhat sick with a touch of
sweetness.
Waters hits on all
of the 50s nostalgia – the great rock n’ roll, atomic bomb drills, the
fashion, the talk, the cars, and the overall sense of change on the
horizon. It has been compared to Grease, unfavorably when it
was released, as it is nowhere near as straight forward or classically
done, but it is almost as fun and energetic. The film is filled with
Waters’ eccentricities and unique brand of humor thus putting it in a
class of its own and (of course) making it not for everyone. There
are a few trouble spots where Waters would have benefited in holding
back on the oddness and strangeness. And here in the director’s cut
he adds in a bit more. The character of Hatchet Face (Kim McGuire) is
so oft-putting and made out to look so ugly that it takes away from
the film, she should have been cut out. There are also some slower
parts in the film (mostly when Depp’s character is off-screen). But
this is definitely one of Waters’ most accessible and fun films. And
even with all of Waters’ weirdness and sick humor, the film maintains
a certain innocence and sweetness to it that makes it still an
endearing film.
The performances
are just terrific, full of energy and fun. Johnny Depp as Elvis-like
Cry-Baby is simply amazing. He inhabits the character with so much
charisma and vigor, he just jumps off the screen and the film feeds
off his energy. Amy Locane is also perfect as the virginal Allison
whose inner bad-girl demons desperately want to bust out. Her
innocence and open-eyed wonder are just spot on and perfectly offset
Depp’s nonstop energy. The supporting cast is just chock full of
lively and entertaining performances. From Traci Lords as the overly
horny and rebellious Wanda to Ricki Lake as Cry-Baby’s ridiculously
pregnant and tough sister to Iggy Pop as Cry-Baby’s rebellious
grandfather to the classy Polly Bergen as Allison’s slowly changing
grandmother, they all deliver fun and energetic performances perfectly
toned to fit their characters. Even Willem Dafoe shows up in a small,
bit part as a cop at a juvenile hall. All of the actors deliver when
it comes to the great musical numbers (especially Depp and Locane).
The music is catchy and enjoyable, picking up the film in some of its
slower parts.
THE VIDEO
The transfer is
fantastically vibrant and lucid with sharp colors and beautiful
contrast without any noticeable clarity or grain issues. It is
presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and it is a strong, superior
video transfer.
THE AUDIO
The audio is
presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and the film sounds amazing. The
musical numbers just jump through the surround; this is a very active
and dynamic audio presentation with clear dialogue and perfect
balances.
THE EXTRAS
Commentary with
John Waters – This is a very
fun, comical, informative and interesting commentary track from
director John Waters. His DVD commentaries are just terrific; he
doesn’t hold anything back and is just a real interesting and humorous
character. He also loves film, providing some great reference points
and exuding such passion for the medium. Some interesting tidbits:
Traci Lords was cast in this right after the big porn controversy that
came out and federal agents were all over the set, Johnny Depp was
currently the teen idol doing 21 Jump Street and was dying to
do something different and after this film he became the distinction
of different, this was the first and only Waters film were he had full
studio backing and big studio money, and Amy Locane fainted in
rehearsals when she had to kiss Depp for the first time as she was
only in high school at the time.
“It Came from
Baltimore” Featurette – This is an in depth look at the making of the film with
brand new interviews from just about everyone involved, including the
two stars (Depp and Locane). I just absolutely loved this
featurette. This is why anniversary and director’s cut DVDs are
released. Get everyone (and I mean everyone) who was involved in the
film and get their thoughts on everything after all the years have
gone by. It also helps that everyone interviewed is so forthcoming
and open with information. This film seemed like it was an absolute
blast for everyone to make and this extra is filled with interesting
anecdotes. This is a real treasure of an extra.
Deleted Scenes
– These scenes will show you just how much further into the strange
Waters really wanted to go. There is one really creepy scene where
Traci Lords character gets basically kidnapped by a sexual predator in
a joking fashion, as well as a real nasty vomiting scene involving a
helicopter. Makes perfect sense why these were cut. There is one
whole musical number by the squares that is also included. The great
thing about these scenes is that they are true deleted scenes (not
just extended scenes or quick snips).
FINAL THOUGHTS
Cry-Baby is a fun,
rocking good musical filled with great music, energetic performances
(and Depp’s first great film role), 50s nostalgia, and (of course)
John Waters’ trademark humor and weirdness that is thankfully toned
down to just the right level (well, almost).
