Shinedowness I read this film's information on Wikipedia and found it entertaining. Then, I watched the Cry-Baby film. I would soon find out this film would give me the heebie jeebies so much that I had to turn it off from trauma. From what I saw, I think the writers had an intriguing idea yet didn't quite match my desired expectations. I'm not hating on this film. It just wasn't for me.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU 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

gavin6942 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).

preppy-3 In 1954 Baltimore bad boy Cry Baby (Johnny Depp) falls for sweet and innocent Allison Vernon-Williams (Amy Locane). She also falls for him to the horror of her mother (Polly Bergen perfectly cast) and her boyfriend who will do anything to get her back.This movie was obviously made to recreate the success of John Waters' earlier film "Hairspray" which was a huge hit. It didn't even come close and it's easy to see why. It's not a bad movie at all. It has a great soundtrack and the song and dance numbers are incredible (especially the ones in the prison). The cast is all good. Depp is fun in his first movie; Locane is very sexy; Ricki Lake is having a great time; Traci Lords wisely kids her porn star image. The problem is the script. It's very scattershot and rambles all over the place. It moves around so much I was lost at a few points. The movie never pulls itself together. There are tons of great moment's but it never works as a whole. So--it's worth seeing just for the music numbers alone but it's no "Hairspray".