Cry-Baby

For other uses, see Crybaby (disambiguation).

Cry-Baby
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Waters
Written byJohn Waters
Produced byRachel Talalay
Starring
CinematographyDavid Insley
Edited byJanice Hampton
Music byPatrick Williams
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • March 14, 1990 (1990-03-14) (Baltimore)
  • April 6, 1990 (1990-04-06) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8–12 million[2][3]
Box office$8.3 million[4]

Cry-Baby is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, and also features a large ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, and Polly Bergen, with appearances by Troy Donahue, Mink Stole, Joe Dallesandro, Joey Heatherton, David Nelson, Patricia Hearst, and Willem Dafoe. It was Waters' first film following the death of his muse and frequent collaborator Divine.

The film centers on a group of delinquent youth who refer to themselves as "drapes" and their interaction with the rest of the town and its other subculture, the "squares", in 1950s Baltimore, Maryland. "Cry-Baby" Walker, a drape, and Allison, a square, disturb Baltimore society by breaking the subculture taboos and falling in love. The film shows what the young couple has to overcome to be together and how their actions affect the rest of the town.

Part of the film takes place at the now-closed Enchanted Forest amusement park in Ellicott City, Maryland. Others take place in the historic neighborhoods and towns of Hampden, Baltimore, Reisterstown, Jessup, Milford Mill, and Sykesville in Maryland. The only scenes not filmed in Maryland were shot at Golden Oak Ranch in Santa Clarita, California.

A box office failure during its initial release, the film has subsequently become a cult classic and spawned a Broadway musical of the same name which was nominated for four Tony Awards.

  1. ^ "Cry-Baby (12)". British Board of Film Classification. April 11, 1990. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AFI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference dreamland was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).