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Cry-Baby

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Cry-Baby
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Waters
Written byJohn Waters
Produced byRachel Talalay
Starring
CinematographyDavid Insley
Edited byJanice Hampton
Music byPatrick Williams
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • March 14, 1990 (1990-03-14) (Baltimore)
  • April 6, 1990 (1990-04-06) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8–12 million[2][3]
Box office$8.3 million[4]

Cry-Baby is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, and also features a large ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, and Polly Bergen, with appearances by Troy Donahue, Mink Stole, Joe Dallesandro, Joey Heatherton, David Nelson, Patricia Hearst, and Willem Dafoe. It was Waters' first film following the death of his muse and frequent collaborator Divine.

The film centers on a group of delinquent youth who refer to themselves as "drapes" and their interaction with the rest of the town and its other subculture, the "squares", in 1950s Baltimore, Maryland. "Cry-Baby" Walker, a drape, and Allison, a square, disturb Baltimore society by breaking the subculture taboos and falling in love. The film shows what the young couple has to overcome to be together and how their actions affect the rest of the town.

Part of the film takes place at the now-closed Enchanted Forest amusement park in Ellicott City, Maryland. Others take place in the historic neighborhoods and towns of Hampden, Baltimore, Reisterstown, Jessup, Milford Mill, and Sykesville in Maryland. The only scenes not filmed in Maryland were shot at Golden Oak Ranch in Santa Clarita, California.

A box office failure during its initial release, the film has subsequently become a cult classic and spawned a Broadway musical of the same name which was nominated for four Tony Awards.

Plot

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In Baltimore in 1954, Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, known for his ability to shed a single tear, leads a group of "drapes". The group includes his sister Pepper, a teenage single mother of two; facially disfigured tough girl Mona "Hatchet-Face" Malnorowski and her devoted boyfriend, runaway rockabilly bass player Milton Hackett; and sexually precocious Wanda Woodward, whose post-World War II conventional parents constantly embarrass her. One day after school, Allison Vernon-Williams, a beautiful upper-class girl tired of being a "square", approaches Cry-Baby, and the two fall in love. That same day, he interrupts a talent show at the R.S.V.P. Charm School run by Allison's grandmother, and introduces himself to her, though she doubts his overall motives. Cry-Baby invites Allison to a party at Turkey Point, a local hangout spot for the drapes.

Despite her grandmother's skepticism, Allison ultimately accompanies Cry-Baby to Turkey Point, where Hatchet-Face, Pepper, and Wanda give her a "drape" makeover before she sings a duet onstage with him. Later, both commiserate over their shared status as orphans: he shares that his father was sentenced to the electric chair for being the "Alphabet Bomber" (a killer who bombed places in alphabetical order) along with his mother as an accomplice, while she reveals that her parents took separate flights for safety, but one time, both of their planes went down, killing them. During their conversation, Allison's jealous boyfriend, Baldwin, leads a group of fellow squares in inciting a riot, vandalizing the Drapes' cars with graffiti and setting fire to Cry-Baby's motorcycle, which was a birthday gift from his uncle Belvedere Ricketts and grandmother Ramona Ricketts. In court, the judge releases most of the Drapes to their parents and Allison to her grandmother, but consigns Pepper's young children, "Snare-Drum" and "Susie-Q", to the Chatterbox Orphanage and sentences the wrongfully blamed Cry-Baby to the Maryland Training School for Boys until his 21st birthday, outraging his friends and even Allison's grandmother, who is impressed by Cry-Baby's unwavering devotion to Allison.

When Lenora Frigid, who has an unrequited crush on Cry-Baby, claims to be pregnant with his child, Allison feels betrayed and tentatively returns to Baldwin and the squares, though her grandmother warns her against prematurely rushing into such a decision. In the penitentiary, Cry-Baby gets a teardrop tattoo under his left eye from fellow drape Dupree, which he dedicates to Allison. Cry-Baby later escapes through a grate into the prison sewer system, while Milton and Hatchet-Face purloin a helicopter, steer it into the jail yard, and scour the cell block hoping to locate and rescue Cry-Baby. Unsuccessful in doing so, they escape in a garbage collection truck. Cry-Baby finally escapes the sewers, but he encounters a room full of prison guards. Meanwhile, Belvedere and Ramona assist Pepper in freeing her children from the Chatterbox Orphanage, before proceeding to release all the other children as well.

Eventually, after Allison performs with Baldwin and his friends at the newly constructed Enchanted Forest theme park, the Drapes and her grandmother convince her to campaign for Cry-Baby's release. Her performance outside the jail persuades the judge, who has become romantically interested in Allison's grandmother, to release Cry-Baby. As the judge announces Cry-Baby's rehabilitation to reporters, Baldwin provokes Cry-Baby by revealing that his grandfather electrocuted Cry-Baby's father. Cry-Baby challenges him to a chicken race between his jalopy and Baldwin's car, under the condition that they ride on the roofs and allow their closest friends to drive. With Belvedere driving, several Drapes ride in Cry-Baby's car, while Baldwin's friends climb into his car. As the cars race toward each other, Pepper delivers an infant son in the backseat, and her boyfriend proposes to her by holding up a sign, which she happily accepts. Cry-Baby ultimately emerges victorious, as Baldwin chickens out and his car crashes into a chicken house. Dupree speeds toward him with Allison on the back of his motorcycle before slamming on the brakes, sending her somersaulting through the air into Cry-Baby's arms. All of the spectators cry a single tear, except for Cry-Baby and Allison, who cry from both eyes.

Cast

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Musical numbers

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  1. "Women in Cadillacs" – Doc Starkes and The Night Riders *(sung along)* – Cry-Baby
  2. "Gee" – The Crows *(sung along)* – Cry-Baby, Hatchet-Face, Milton, Pepper, Wanda
  3. "Sh-Boom" – Baldwin, the Whiffles
  4. "A Teenage Prayer" – Allison
  5. "King Cry-Baby" – Cry-Baby, Allison, Hatchet-Face, Milton, Pepper, Wanda
  6. "Teardrops Are Falling" – Cry-Baby, Dupree, Prisoners
  7. "Doin' Time for Bein' Young" – Cry-Baby, Prisoners
  8. "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" (Director's Cut) – Baldwin, the Whiffles
  9. "Mr. Sandman" – Allison, Baldwin, the Whiffles
  10. "Please, Mr. Jailer" – Allison, Cry-Baby, Company, Prisoners
  11. "Chicken" (deleted scene) – Baldwin, the Whiffles
  12. "High School Hellcats" – Cry-Baby, Allison, Pepper, Company

Release

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Cry-Baby premiered in Baltimore on March 14, 1990, and was released on April 6.[2] It was screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.[5]

Reception

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Box office

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The film opened on April 6, 1990, in 1,229 North American theaters—an unprecedented number for a Waters film. It grossed $3,004,905 ($2,445 per screen) on its opening weekend and $8,266,343 by the end of its theatrical run,[4] against an $8 million budget ($12 million including advertising and promotion).[2][3]

Critical response

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Cry-Baby received positive reviews from critics. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "John Waters' musical ode to the teen rebel genre is infectious and gleefully camp, providing star Johnny Depp with the perfect vehicle in which to lampoon his pin-up image."[6] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[8] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film 3 out of 4 stars.[9]

Musical adaptation

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Main article: Cry-Baby (musical)

Cry-Baby is the second of Waters' films to be adapted for the stage as a musical comedy (following Hairspray). The adaptation does not feature any of the film's songs.

References

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  1. ^ "Cry-Baby (12)". British Board of Film Classification. April 11, 1990. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Cry-Baby". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Dreamland News: Filmography: Cry Baby". Dreamland News. Archived from the original on January 2, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Cry-Baby at Box Office Mojo
  5. ^ "Cry-Baby". Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  6. ^ "Cry-Baby". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  7. ^ "Cry-Baby". Metacritic. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Ebert, Roger (April 6, 1990). "Cry-Baby". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
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