Review: Cry Baby (C+)

Cry Baby
Directed by John Waters
Starring Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Traci Lords, Polly Bergen, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Willem Dafoe & Patty Hearst
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: C+

Review by Scott Standish

John Waters created this homage to teen delinquency as a follow up to the hugely successful Hairspray. Full of musical numbers and kitsch, Cry Baby is an entertaining film that never seems to gather much steam.

Johny Depp stars as Cry Baby, a wanna be rock star that is in love with a square girl. She falls for him, but of course, her square friends try to keep the two apart. The focus of the film is on the young couple's struggles to find each other, and stay together. Depp and Locane have very poor chemistry, but Traci Lords and Ricki Lake do excellent jobs in supporting roles.

Waters pours on the B movie camp as usual but Cry Baby is certainly no Hairspray. If you are a huge John Waters fan, this might work for you. Personally, I prefer Cecil B Demented and Hairspray (of course). Fans of Depp will probably be a little disappointed, as this is certainly not his best work.