Amazon.com Essentials:
John Waters's goofy, 1990 comedy about a Baltimore girl (Amy
Locane) who can't decide if she should remain "good" in her 1954 world
or hang out with the motorcycle boys is funny in a scene-by-scene way,
but doesn't quite gel into the grand piece the director was hoping
for. The cast is exceptionally likable, however, including Johnny Depp
as an Elvis type and Iggy Pop as a chattering loony. The best material
is set in a fringe world of bikers and losers on the outskirts of
town, and Waters writes some hilarious sardonic dialogue for the
characters. Cry-Baby is the last of Waters's more undisciplined
features; he followed it with the glossier but no less perverse Serial
Mom. --Tom Keogh
