CRY-BABY is the story of a hoodlum named... Cry-Baby (Johnny Depp) who is your typical stereotype of bad news. He hangs out with his group of friends, whom are called the "Drapes," and has clashes with the other, rich group, called the "Squares." One day, he sees a Square named Allison (Amy Locane) and decides to pursue her. Of course, this causes a big controversy, as two people so different should not be together. Will the love that surfaces between them in their first (and only) night hold them together?
Oy... I really don't know what to say about CRY-BABY, other than that it is a painful movie to watch. I guess I'll get the flaws out of the way first, since there are more of them. The story is incredibly overdone and has been done much, much better. It's full of stereotypes and almost forces you to root for Johnny Depp's character--even though, by the end, I wasn't rooting for anybody. The "jokes" (aka, the things that are supposed to be funny, if this movie confused that meaning for you) are hardly ever chuckle-worthy, and most of the humor is crude and even disgusting. Case in point: the French-kissing scene. It starts out kind of funny at how ludicrous it is, but quickly becomes disgusting and unnecessary. The screenplay is so ridiculous and full of cliches that it's hard not to cringe or roll your eyes at every other line. And, to top it off--the acting is terrible. It was so bad that it almost seemed like it was being done intentionally; and if it was, that should have been made clearer. If this movie was a parody on bad old movies--fine. I'd like it a lot more. But I don't think it is. It's just trying to be one of them.
The good? Well, Johnny Depp has his moments and shows some hints of the greatness to come, but even he is awful in this movie. (He looks absolutely gorgeous though! Wow! I would watch the movie again on mute just to see him, but unfortunately the tracking on the tape I rented is so bad that I can't.) It's fun to see Johnny so young and so long ago, and it's kind of amusing to see Ricki Lake pregnant as Cry-Baby's sister Pepper. And I do have to say that the musical scenes were very good and very well-done, even if it wasn't really them singing. But, on that note--when the hell did this become a musical?
Ultimately, CRY-BABY would never be thought of today if Johnny Depp hadn't starred in it. It has great musical scenes, but God-awful everything else. It was literally painful to watch and I couldn't wait for it to end. It's almost worth it to see Johnny lip-synching, dancing, and impersonating Elvis though... almost. 3/10.
Oy... I really don't know what to say about CRY-BABY, other than that it is a painful movie to watch. I guess I'll get the flaws out of the way first, since there are more of them. The story is incredibly overdone and has been done much, much better. It's full of stereotypes and almost forces you to root for Johnny Depp's character--even though, by the end, I wasn't rooting for anybody. The "jokes" (aka, the things that are supposed to be funny, if this movie confused that meaning for you) are hardly ever chuckle-worthy, and most of the humor is crude and even disgusting. Case in point: the French-kissing scene. It starts out kind of funny at how ludicrous it is, but quickly becomes disgusting and unnecessary. The screenplay is so ridiculous and full of cliches that it's hard not to cringe or roll your eyes at every other line. And, to top it off--the acting is terrible. It was so bad that it almost seemed like it was being done intentionally; and if it was, that should have been made clearer. If this movie was a parody on bad old movies--fine. I'd like it a lot more. But I don't think it is. It's just trying to be one of them.
The good? Well, Johnny Depp has his moments and shows some hints of the greatness to come, but even he is awful in this movie. (He looks absolutely gorgeous though! Wow! I would watch the movie again on mute just to see him, but unfortunately the tracking on the tape I rented is so bad that I can't.) It's fun to see Johnny so young and so long ago, and it's kind of amusing to see Ricki Lake pregnant as Cry-Baby's sister Pepper. And I do have to say that the musical scenes were very good and very well-done, even if it wasn't really them singing. But, on that note--when the hell did this become a musical?
Ultimately, CRY-BABY would never be thought of today if Johnny Depp hadn't starred in it. It has great musical scenes, but God-awful everything else. It was literally painful to watch and I couldn't wait for it to end. It's almost worth it to see Johnny lip-synching, dancing, and impersonating Elvis though... almost. 3/10.