Cry-Baby

Following a successful move towards the mainstream with Hairspray (1988), John Waters, the ‘pope of trash’ famed for outré films such as Pink Flamingos (1972), took a further step away from his transgressive roots with Cry-Baby while retaining his distinctive style. Eager to rid himself of the teen heartthrob label he had acquired working in television, Johnny Depp took the lead role of ‘Cry-Baby’, leader of the delinquent Drapes, a 1950s Baltimore gang, who falls in love with Allison (Amy Locane), a ‘square’ tired of living the good-girl life. When Cry-Baby is sent to a jail for a crime he didn’t commit, and a rival for his affections claims to be pregnant by him, Allison must decide whether he’s worth the heartache. This day-glo riot of a film features appearances from the likes of Iggy Pop, Patty Hearst, and Willem Dafoe.