RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Cry-Baby
Cry-Baby

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Cry-Baby (1990)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
83 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:36

Fresh:30

Rotten:6

Average Rating:6.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Cult director John Waters goes mainstream -- sort of -- in this send-up of 1950s teen melodramas. Heart-throb Johnny Depp stars in the title role as a glamorous delinquent who heads a gang of hoods... Cult director John Waters goes mainstream -- sort of -- in this send-up of 1950s teen melodramas. Heart-throb Johnny Depp stars in the title role as a glamorous delinquent who heads a gang of hoods known as the Drapes. Trouble starts when Cry-Baby falls for a squeaky clean blonde from a rival group, the Squares. Their star-crossed romance sets off a rumble between the warring factions and Cry-Baby ends up doing time in reform school. Chock-full of rock 'n roll and Waters' usual cavalcade of eccentric celebrities, including Patty Hearst, Iggy Pop and former porn star Traci Lords. [More]

Starring: Johnny Depp, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Amy Locane

Starring: Johnny Depp, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Polly Bergen, Iggy Pop

Director: John Waters

Director: John Waters

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Cry-Baby

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Cheerfully camp, terrifically enjoyable teen parody that ranks among Waters' best moments. Oh, and world -- meet Johnny Depp!

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/20/09
Jon Fortgang
Jon Fortgang
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Waters' finest film to date, a worthy successor to Hairspray which exudes teen angst and young lust from every pore.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unhinged and inventive

comment Comment
11/08/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Pink Flamingos fans will find Cry-Baby decidedly tame, but it's one of my favorites.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/08/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Waters is just as offbeat as any of his film characters— and he surrounds himself with creative people who wouldn't at all be out of place in a John Waters movie.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
07/23/05
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

It's a satire that functions the same way the stuff it's satirizing does.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
07/19/07
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Waters' hole card is Johnny Depp, the winsome tough from TV's 21 Jump Street, who radiates big- screen grace and swagger as Cry-Baby -- no easy trick, since he is guying his own image.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
06/20/09
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If there is one constant in recent social history, it is that we feel nostalgia for yesterday's teenage badness even while we fear today's.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Altogether a joyous outburst of Watersian creativity.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
02/16/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Some of the musical numbers are fun and there are some good gags here and there, but for the most part this one is pretty weak.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Basically the filmmaker reminds us of his affection for social misfits, but without much conviction. He's simply too hip to commit himself to his beliefs, and a relentless frivolity prevails.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post

Mr. Depp, who smolders naturally when he isn't trying so hard, acts this role about as well as Elvis would have; under the circumstances, that's fine.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even diluted Waters is better than no Waters at all.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
01/16/02
Richard Natale
Richard Natale
Movieline

Successfully works in fits and starts.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/03/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

John Waters' mischievous satire of the teen exploitation genre is entertaining as a rude joyride through another era, full of great clothes and hairdos.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/20/09
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Everyone is clearly having a ball in Cry-Baby, and one can only imagine what the nightlife was like on the set

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/07/05
Don Willmott
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com

The film is high on energy, color and camera movement and, as usual in Waters's world, everything is styled within an inch of its life, capturing all the fun and fever of the 1950s.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/20/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Tears for fears? Nah, it's Johnny Depp's. When will this Waters gem be adapted for Broadway?

comment Comment
10/25/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

Johnny Depp is a rockin' revelation

comment Comment
03/11/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

Waters goes mainstream. Johnny proves he has depth.

comment Comment
07/23/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Cry-Baby

January 17, 2008: Kevin Smith's Porno Adds Five
Just in time for filming to begin, Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno has added five new faces to its cast. More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Cameron Explains Blue Avatar Aliens Source: MTV
12
  • Matt Damon Expects Greengrass to Return for Fourth Bourne Source: Collider.com
4
  • Burton's Dark Shadows Rising in 2010 Source: Sci Fi Wire
2
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
27
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
20
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
17
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
201
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
83
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
57
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
24
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Cry-Baby at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.