Cry-Baby
Directed by John Waters
- comedy
- romance
The story
A prim and proper schoolgirl goes against her society grandmother's wishes when she dates a motorcycle-riding juvenile delinquent.
What it’s like
Saturated 1950s Technicolor-pastiche sets, all candy pinks, lime greens and cherry reds, lit flat and bright like a pressed-and-polished postcard of teen-movie Baltimore. The camera is mostly unfussy, with stage-style staging, wide static frames and big musical numbers that unfold in a tidy, theatrical way, while the costumes and hair do a lot of the visual work. The sound is doo-wop, rockabilly and drifting ballads, with a bouncy, cheeky score that keeps the mood giddy. The vibe is goofy, sugar-glazed and knowingly off-kilter, the kind of thing to put on for a silly Friday night, a group watch with friends, or a bright, playful comfort rewatch. Its pace is brisk and sketchy, with comic set pieces stacked on top of one another, and its emotional register stays light even when the story turns teary. Its romance is an odd-couple tale of a buttoned-up girl and a rebel with a heart of gold, with the bulk of the fun in the broad outsider-versus-respectable comedy. Intensity is low: there is some scuffling, a few crude jokes and mild suggestive innuendo, and a jail stint, but nothing graphic or truly frightening. It suits people who want playful camp, rock-and-roll nostalgia and a gentle, irreverent laugh.
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