CRY-BABY (1990)—Rebel Without a Tear Duct

Cinema of Cruelty (Movies for Masochists)

This week, The Cultists Present, John Waters’ Cry-Baby (1990). Inarguably the most mainstream and accessible of Waters’ oeuvre, Cry-Baby’s technicolor array of costumes, camp performances, and impeccably mixed sound still bears all the markings of John Waters’ loveably perverse and whacky soul. In a charming parody tale of 1950s cinema nostalgia, Cry Baby Walker—the matchstick chewing, leather clad “Drape” who can only ever cry that one lonely tear drop—has met a girl. The only hurdle between their atomic-defying love? Dead, homicidal parents; jealous, sociopathic and marriage obsessed boyfriends; and a long stint in Juvie. Oh, and she’s also a square.

Deep Dives Include: Waters’ personal childhood influences on the film; the immeasurable importance of Bob Mizer’s photography; that jaw-dropping eclectic cast (from Traci Lords to Joe Dallesandro, to Iggy Pop to Patty Hearst); and the 1950s film homages that pop up throughout.)

Episode Safeword: “mass-appeal”