Dreamland

Cry Baby

Universal Pictures, 1990, 85 minutes
Starring Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Polly Bergen, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Kim McGuire, Stephen Mailer

Thanks to the success of Hairspray, John Waters was a hot property for the first time in his career. Everyone wanted to make his next movie, but it was Universal Studios' Imagine Entertainment who ponied up the 12 million dollars it took to create this over-the-top movie musical.

The story centers around juvenile delinquent Wade "Cry Baby" Walker, played by 80s teen heart throb Johnny Depp, and his unexpected love interest, Allison. See, Wade is a Drape. Allison is a Square. And Drapes and Squares don't mix. But Allison is tired of being good.

The cast of Cry Baby is absolutely outrageous. No one will ever top this bizarre combination of stars, punks and legends. Featuring former teenage porn star Traci Lords, punk progenitor Iggy Pop, a very large Ricki Lake, a rough and raunchy Susan Tyrell, prim and proper Polly Bergen, and everyone's favorite Kim McGuire — better known to Dreamland Fans as HATCHETFACE!

Those are just the major roles. The supporting cast boggles the mind. Patty Hearst, David Nelson, Mink Stole, Troy Donohue, Joey Heatherton, Joe Dallesandro and Willem Dafoe as a perverse prison guard. "Stunt casting is used as a negative term, but with Cry-Baby I certainly helped invent it. I had David Nelson married to Patty Hearst, with Traci Lords as their daughter," said John. Unfortunately this was the first movie he made after the passing of Divine, and she is sorely missed in this misfit cast.

Packed with musical numbers and plenty of tawdry jokes, this movie has actually held up really well. It's been released on DVD in a Director's Cut edition with commentary from Waters, as well as deleted scenes and a short making-of documentary with great cast and crew interviews.