[Childhood movies] “Cry Baby” and the tale of 100+ views

I have seen Cry Baby at least 100 times. Minimum. I can’t say a number exactly because there was a time in my childhood where I insisted on seeing this film on VHS every day…at least twice. If not this one, then Dirty Dancing, but that’s a different story.

 

If you would have asked me then what was Cry Baby about, I wouldn’t have known what to say, but I would have told you that I love the music, and the boy and the girl are pretty, and it looks soooo cooooool. Yup, a 6 year old Diana review, you’re welcome.

 

The mature (hopefully), almost 30, Diana, would tell you Cry Baby is a Musical Comedy written and directed by John Waters, starring Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Ricki Lane, Iggi Pop (with a short cameo by Willem Dafoe) and it’s about a good girl falling in love with a bad boy and the drama that it insures. It’s kind of a parody / spoofing of 80s movies, but set in a 50s type of world, with Johnny Depp playing an Elvis wannabe.

 

I absolutely loved it back then and guess what? I still do, to this day.

 

It’s silly (duh, it’s a parody) and over the top in some aspects, but it’s like a guilty pleasure. You know you should hate it, but you can’t stop smiling and singing along. Speaking of singing, the soundtrack is amazing- filled with 50s classics (Mister Sandman, anyone?) and some original ones, they fit in perfect with the theme of the movie and the actors. You won’t believe that isn’t Johnny Depp’s voice singing those tunes (it’s James Intveld)!

 

Besides the usual good girl-bad boy storyline, it touches upon interesting themes, in its comedic, over-the-top way: underage sex/ pregnancy / drinking / , being an orphan, having extremely religious parents, the gossip and traps set up by media, and so on. But overall, it’s light and easy to follow.

 

Acting-wise, you all know Johnny Depp, so I don’t have to say anything more; he is, as expected, really good as the bad boy yearning for the sweetheart of the town. Personally, I also really liked Amy Locane (playing his love interest), I wonder what happened to her, I don’t remember seeing in any other movies. I can’t continue without mentioning Mona “Hatchet-Face” Malnorowski, played by Kim McGuire, who was a memorable character of the movie- you have to see it to know what I mean.

 

So, if you like Musicals or Broadway shows or music / dancing in general, you should definitely give this one a try.

 

p.s. I was just thinking that, if this movie would have come out today, the media and the critics would have ripped it in half (everything is so easy to judge this day, but that’s a talk for another time). That’s why I’m glad it was released then and I was able to enjoy it 🙂