Customer Reviews

Cry-Baby [VHS]

5 star:		(166)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I'm really excited to see this great film finally make its debut on dvd; it's been a long wait.

John Waters has proven himself time and time again as America's avatar of bad taste and all things tacky, but he sidelined his more base urges for a greater good over a decade ago. Starting with Hairspray, Waters essentially re-created the American musical, and honed that to perfection with the castly underappreciated Cry-Baby. But it's not just a musical - it's also a heartfelt valentine to a simpler time, his beloved Baltimore of the late 1950's.

Depp stars as "Cry-Baby" Walker, a juvenile delinquent from the wrong side of the tracks who spends his time hanging with his gang and singing that evil rock n' roll music. He and his way of life are constantly threatened by the town 'Squares' who are both threatened and repelled by Cry-Baby and those like him.

Naturally, he falls for a Square girl and all hell breaks loose. That part of it is a simple story, and I won't waste time rehashing or giving it away here. No, what really stands out about this film is its gleeful embrace of 'white-trash culture,' its loving tribute to the great juvenile delinquent movies of the 50's and 60's, and its rambunctious energy.

As usual, Waters peppers the film with eclectic casting; Susan Tyrell, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Mink Stole, Joe Dalessandro, Willem Dafoe, David Nelson (son of Ozzie), Traci Lords and Patty Hearst (yes, that Patty Hearst) are just a few of the many talents that form this wonderful ensemble cast. And of course, it's another one of Depp's great iconoclastic roles that have helped define him as one of the great idiosyncratic actors of our time.

So grab yourself an RC Cola, a Moon Pie, and put yer teeth up on the windowsill while y'all enjoy this trashy good time. You'll thank me for it and if y'all don't like it, I'll eat me a bug.

There are two movies that people who don't know John Waters and the types of films he normally makes always love. Cry Baby and Hairspray contain both John Water's sense of humor and style, but don't necessarily dig into the depths of depravity (like eating dog poo) some of his more subversive films do. I'm not a John Waters aficionado yet, but what I've noticed in his films is that they normally center around two opposite sides that will eventually come crashing into one another. From Hairspray to A Dirty Shame, the films do a great job of putting two sides in direct opposition to each other and then letting the fur fly.

Cry Baby is no different. In this case, the Drapes and the Squares square off (pun not-intended) with Johnny Depp's Wade and Amy Locane's Allison at the center. Basically a love story that draws on the same dichotomous split seen in Romeo and Juliet, you have the poor and rowdy meet the rich and on the surface proper. What follows is a funny and zany ride as the two sides end up colliding in a winner-take-all car chase.

The writing is sharp as is the directing. What I admire about Waters the most is his ability to create vivid characters with personality. Sometimes he relies heavily on stereotypes, but each character is his or her own. You won't ever confuse them. They stay sharp, even when the acting isn't exactly stellar. The acting, like a majority of John Water's films, is spotty. Its done in an over-the-top sort of way that you can't help but laugh at. It reminds you that this isn't real and that you shouldn't take it seriously. Water's employs not only great upcoming talent (like Depp) but also people like Hatchet Face who haven't been seen much in film since. All do a great job playing their roles; however, not all of them are good actors.

Once you look past this minor speed bump, the ride is hillarious. It, along with Hairspray, is probably the most accessible of John Water's films. It maintains his sharp satirical writing and funny dialogue, but keeps the humor bawdy but not excessive.

cry baby what a great film! I am 16 and i have been watching Cry baby since i was 8 years old on a battered and worn out version on VHS. The film makes me feel really happy, the songs are unforgetable and the characters are just real funny especially Johnny Depp. I have mailed the director about releasing the film on DVD and i cant wait for it to happen. I am sure lots of people will buy. So "please Mr Jailer" give us Cry baby on DVD

I saw the movie Cry Baby with all of its scenes included on IFC years ago. They did a John Waters back to back marathon. I'm glad I had taped it because since then I have never seen the movie with those seens included. For instance, you don't see Johnny getting chased by the policeman on the way to the charm school. These parts are cut out to save time. If you ever get the chance to see it with ALL of the scenes, watch it! It's better, I think. And the part where Traci Lord's character tells exchange student Inga about American boys is great. It's better with the extra scenes. Once you see it, you'll see what I mean.

I'm SO happy!!! Cry-Baby AT LAST ON DVD!! about time! This is a MUST SEE MOVIE! If you havent got it, GET IT! If you havent seen it, SEE IT! Its one of those movies that makes the world a better place ;-)
Cry -Baby represents every adolesent girls dream,he sings, has a bike, and when the Squares cant beat him, thay join him! Its a classic and a MUST have for any movie mogal.

This movie is so amazing! I watched it for the first time just cause Iggy was in it, but it was waaay better than I expected. Johnny Depp is incredibly gorgeous in this movie, with his hair, leather jacket.....This movie is not at all serious, so don't go in with that mindset or you'll hate it. It's campy, I mean its a musical for god's sake!!! The songs are really stupid and get stuck in your head weeks after you've seen the movie...but that's actually a good thing. This movie is not just for obsessed Johnny Depp freaks it is just generally a funny lovable movie. Oh and the Igster is hilarious as Uncle Belevedere he fits the part completely.

CryBaby is a clever satire with everything that a movie should have. Let's face it, every girl wants to be fought over by two hot guys (especially if one is Johnny Depp). The script is witty, the songs are amazing, and the acting is outstanding. I could watch this movie every day for the rest of my life without getting sick of it. I find myself singing the catchy songs around the house. CryBaby takes an ordinary storyline of the good girl falling for the bad boy, and spices it up with music, dancing, and interesting sub-plots. The contrast between the "squares" and the "drapes" (the good girls and boys and the rebels) is hysterical; everything in the movie is hysterical. CryBaby is destined to become a classic.

Fans of the movie Cry Baby should be pleased that the movie is finally available on DVD. I for one am very pleased with the release. The one short documentary, "It Came From Baltimore" basically features John Waters and others talking about the climate in Baltimore in the 50's and early 60's with the Drapers and the squares. It's really interesting as John Water goes on to discuss how he pitched the Baltimore Drapes to a major studio. Johnny Deepp looks really awesome in the interviews for the film. He has his hair kind of spiky and a tore off shirt, it's almost as if he got into character a little bit for his new interview, he looks a lot more like he used to then than his more unique style of today. The details about the film are good. One crew member mentions that the budget for Hairspray was about 2.5 million and the budget for Cry Baby was about 12.5 million. Amy Locane looks great in her current interview. In the documentary they also mention that it was required in the contract thaht the film get an PG-13 rating. Rikki Lake also appears in new interviews and she mentions how much she loved making the film and how she was single and flirted a lot while making the film.

Cry Baby was released in 1990, after "Hairspray" but similar to "Hairspray," "Cry Baby" was a Baltimore coming of age film and both Waters films have developed a huge cuclt following. Johnny Depp, hearthrob of the time starred in the film as Wade. Rikki Lake, who was still a bit plump also appears in the film and so does Any Locane. 1980's former porn star Tracy Lords also made her major film big screen debut in the film. Cry Baby Directors' cut also features director commentary with John Waters and never before available deleted scenes.

So the glorious day arrived yesterday. Cry-Baby the Director's Cut on DVD! Woo! And the movie is as nifty and cool as I remember. Johnny Depp and the amazing supporting cast continue to delight in their performances, and the silliness with the great songs is as fun as ever.

BUT...man, I'm not usually one of those people who get hung up on picture/sound quality, but there were some egregious sound problems that made me wince. Several of the songs were "miked" strangely causing problems created with the mix of the back-up vocals. "Doin' Time for Being Young" especially loses its punch with the strangely loud back-up singers overpowering the instruments and the lead vocals. In fact, it sounds like ONE guy is just not blending in with the rest but for some reason was given the mike. This is a problem I've never encountered on the VHS copy, the soundtrack, or the cable version. Similar sound problems plague "Please, Mr. Jailer" causing some of the back-ups to be lost this time, and the lead so overly amped that the lip-synching is completely obvious, whereas previous versions upheld the illusion very well that both Amy Locane and Johnny Depp were actually singing.

It's probably a minor thing to most people, but it was sad to have an otherwise enjoyable trip down Memory Lane marred by some questionable choices in sound transfer and remixing. The movie itself -- five stars all the way. The production -- 2.5-3 stars depending on how disappointed I'm feeling.

A rough little gem, courtesy of our resident sick vile genius, Mr. John Waters. This picture is a startlingly well-executed spoof on those dreadful Elvis movies which we love to hate. Johnny Depp has got the sneer and swagger down pat, and is backed up by a zany array of grotesque suburbanites lovable degenerates. The music is flat brilliant, as is the exuberantly over-the-top choreography (particularly Johnny Depp's in-prison numbers). The lineup of actors runs the gamut from Iggy Pop to Ricki Lake to Traci Lords to SLA darling Patricia Hearst! The dialogue and character development is toe-curling bad, as are fair-sized chunks of the cinematography. But then, Waters had to throw some of his trademarks into this otherwise sweet and practically squeaky clean film. Wrongfully rejected by many hardcore Waters-heads, Cry-Baby (like Hairspray) is a step into more conventional territory for the Baltimore auteur, but still has some of the outrageousness for the benefit of folks without the stomach for his trash masterpieces like Desperate Living or Pink Flamingos. So watch it already. If you don't find something in here you like, then you're too picky.