Critics reviews

It’s a relatively tame entry in Waters’ canon. While it still relishes in its share of grotesqueries, Waters’ style has been refracted through the lens of a clean, presentable teen movie format. . . . Nonetheless, Cry-Baby is still worthy of analysis as it marks the beginning of the brief, bizarre period when the self-described King of Filth broke mainstream.

The costumes by Van Smith and sets by Vincent Peranio (two key Dreamlanders) yield an otherworldly period aesthetic. Johnny Depp sneers and swaggers, brandishing his lithe beauty for the sake of Waters' fervid melodrama. Following on the heels of Hairspray—but with Divine now tangibly absent—this is another utopian musical, its pop kitsch easing the enmity between these Baltimorean Capulets and Montagues.